Globalization does lead to change in consumer behavior : An empirical evidence of impact of globalization on changing materialistic values in Indian consumers and its aftereffects

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to empirically substantiate if the forces of globalization are impacting consumer culture and behavioral traits in a developing country (India). Design/methodology/approach – Five hypotheses had been constructed to address the gaps in the literature with respect to the influence of globalization on prevalent consumer culture of a developing nation. Predisposition towards foreign brand among Indian consumers was taken as a proxy for global flows and its influence was studied on the existing materialistic values among the Indian consumers. The study covered a sample size of 557 respondents from five major cities in India. The raw data were collected with the help of structured questionnaire and analysis was done by using various relevant statistical techniques. Findings – The results showed that predisposition towards foreign brands had a significant impact on materialistic values among the Indian consumers. The younger Indian consumers had significantly higher materialistic values than the older age groups. Lower income groups have showed significantly greater materialistic values than the higher income groups. Significant positive relationships were shown between materialistic values and the buyer behavior traits studied. Practical implications – The managers should concentrate on the younger consumers, as they are the ones who are showing a definitive change in their buying behavior and increasing materialistic values. Alternatively, managers could modify their products to suit the requirements of older consumers. Originality/value – The study empirically showed that Indian consumers' predisposition towards foreign brands and their materialistic values had significant positive correlation among them. Also, predisposition towards foreign brands along with demographical variables like age and gender significantly impact the materialistic values prevalent among Indian consumers.