Beyond national culture: implications of cultural dynamics for consumer research

Purpose - To develop a more thorough understanding of culture in a rapidly changing global environment. Design/methodology/approach - The recent literature dealing with ways in which cultural dynamics are influencing the nature and meaning of culture are examined. Different perspectives of culture related to three key components of culture, intangibles, material culture and communication, are explored. Based on this, directions for research on the content of culture are discussed as well as how it should be approached. Findings - Culture is becoming increasingly deterritorialized and penetrated by elements from other cultures. This is resulting in cultural contamination, cultural pluralism and hybridization. It has become more difficult to study culture as it is becoming diffuse. At the same time, it is becoming more important to study it because of its pervasive influence on consumer behavior. Research limitations/implications - Given that culture is no longer a phenomenon defined by and isolated to a particular locale, research on culture must carefully specify the role of culture, define the appropriate unit of analysis, isolate confounding influences and expand the range of contexts. Originality/value - The parallel trends of globalization and multiculturalism make it increasingly important to develop a deeper understanding of culture and its various manifestations. For progress to be made, research designs must account for this complexity and span multiple contexts to establish the generality of findings. This will result in improved knowledge of culture and its role in molding consumption behavior.