Convergence and Divergence in Consumer Behaviour: Implications for Global Advertising

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Convergence and divergence in consumer behaviour: implications for global advertising

Marieke De Mooij Cross Cultural Communications Company, the Netherlands and University of Navarre, Spain

One aspect of globalisation is the convergence of income, media and technology, which in turn is expected to lead to homogeneous consumer behaviour. This convergence thesis is increasingly questioned. With converging national wealth there still is substantial variation of consumer behaviour across nations, which is not disappearing. Variation is found in all aspects of consumer behaviour: in consumption of packaged goods, in usage and ownership of durable goods, and in media behaviour. With disappearing differences of GNP per capita, culture is a powerful explaining variable. This paper provides evidence of divergence of consumer behaviour rather than convergence, it describes the influence of culture, how cultural variables can explain variance of consumption, and presents the consequences for international brand management and for global advertising.

INTRODUCTION One aspect of globalisation is the convergence of income, media and technology. Many authors (e.g. Jain 1987; Czincota & Ronkainen 1993; Assael 1998; Bullmore 2000) expect this convergence to lead to homogeneous consumer needs, tastes and lifestyles. For example, cross-border music channels such as MTV, increased travel, and global communications have encouraged the notion of a ‘global teenager’ – that is, the notion that teenagers possess similar values, regardless of their country of origin (e.g. Assael 1998). In his famous article titled ‘The globalization of markets’, Levitt (1983) argued that new technology would lead to homogenisation of consumer wants and needs because consumers were expected to prefer standard products of high quality and low price (as compared to more

International Journal of Advertising, 22, pp. 183–202 © 2003 Advertising Association...