Abstract
In the modern world, both individuals and cultures need not be territorially-bounded, yet the conventional method of segmenting international markets has hitherto been at the country level. The unprecedented interconnectedness between economies, cultures, and individuals has blurred the traditional boundaries between ‘home’ and ‘away’. Furthermore, a growing number of theorists contend that many individuals worldwide now develop bicultural identities, consisting of their local or traditional-culture identity with an identity connected to an emerging global culture. Researchers and practitioners increasingly recognize that consumer segments transcend national borders. Consequently the focus of international marketers should expand beyond deriving within- and between- country segments, towards identifying common groups of consumers irrespective of where they might live. Psychographic dimensions are suitable bases for international market segmentation, complementing the more commonly employed demographic approaches. Cosmopolitanism (COS) is a theoretical concept that is found in the fields of anthropology, sociology, and psychology, with growing applications in marketing and management. COS refers to a specific set of beliefs, attitudes, and qualities held by certain individuals, specifically an openness towards and appreciation of distinctive cultural systems, a willingness to engage with peoples from other cultures, along with personal competence in navigating different cultures. Global forces (e.g., mass media networks) have now made it possible for a wider variety of individuals to inculcate cosmopolitan values and to exhibit the traits of cosmopolitans, even without ever having left one’s own country of birth. Thus, belonging to an elite class is no longer a prerequisite for COS. To date, the application of COS has been widespread yet chiefly theoretical. Among the few empirical studies, most have focused on the outcomes rather than the causes of COS.
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© 2015 Academy of Marketing Science
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Cleveland, M., Yip, C. (2015). Individual and Cultural Values as Precursors of Cosmopolitanism. In: Campbell, C. (eds) Marketing in Transition: Scarcity, Globalism, & Sustainability. Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18687-0_102
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18687-0_102
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
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