Background: Globalisation is changing the world and our daily lives are governed by products and images originating from other countries and other cultures. Globalisation influences consumer culture and different authors have argued for the emergence of global consumer culture. However, previous literature de-emphasizes what consumer beliefs about the global consumer culture are and how people who believe that they are global try to construct themselves as global in terms of consumption. What are their motives of being global and what kind of needs and wants do they cover by being global consumers? Purpose: To explore and illustrate how consumers try to construct their global selves through consumption. Method: An abductive, qualitative research approach with a combination of exploratory and descriptive research design was chosen. Primary data collection through semi-structured in-depth interviews was conducted among 15 respondents who tried to construct their global selves through consumption. These consumers were selected through a non-probability sampling and interviews took place in Jönköping, Sweden. Conclusion: Consumers try to construct their global selves in a variety of ways, the most common ones are through travelling and engaging in cultural experiences, consuming products from specific countries for certain reasons, and by observing the market as one whole global market, thus not limiting themselves into the boundaries of specific countries, regions or continents. This consumption is then grounded on myths and beliefs that they have accumulated about global consumer culture while gaining experience in different parts of the world. These myths and beliefs are however based on their perceptions towards global consumer culture, not objective reality per se.

Yes / This study explores how global and local forces influence the processes of consumer re-acculturation amongst third-generation British Sikhs in the United Kingdom (U.K.). Data is collected over a three-year period using multiple methods that focus on the experiential consumption of shaadi.com by third-generation British-born Sikhs. Data is analysed using thematic analysis, and findings reveal three transcultural identity patterns: accommodating, re-acculturating, and resisting Sikh culture. We argue that the emergent identity patterns are fluid, as our participants feel neither wholly British, wholly Sikh, nor wholly British-Sikh, positioning themselves beyond, rather than against, Sikh or British culture. We uncover the connectedness between the traditional cultural practices of arranged marriages and the space of shaadi.com, a matrimonial website. We interpret this website as a medium through which transcultural identities are constructed. We contribute to theory by showing the development of transcultural patterns of consumption and consistent transcultural identity construction in non-migrating ethnic communities.

Mais da metade da população no mundo vive em povoados e cidades. Estes lugares correspondem àqueles que têm sido imediata e diretamente influenciados pela globalização. Nesse cenário, muitas empresas multinacionais estão alterando seus portfólios de marcas em favor de marcas globais; essa situação faz com que surja o conceito de cultura de consumo global - conjunto de símbolos relacionados ao consumo e comportamentos que são comumente entendidos, mas não, necessariamente, compartilhados pelos consumidores e negócios ao redor do mundo. Isso dependeria da suscetibilidade para a cultura de consumo global (SCCG), uma característica ou traço latente dos consumidores que varia através dos indivíduos e é refletido no desejo dos consumidores ou tendências para a aquisição e uso de marcas globais. Esse traço, pela literatura revisada, compreenderia a conformidade com a tendência de consumo global, percepção de qualidade, prestígio social, responsabilidade social, credibilidade de marca, risco percebido e custo de informação armazenada. É nesse contexto, portanto, que se insere a presente tese, ao caracterizar e verificar o impacto dos traços latentes da suscetibilidade para a cultura de consumo global (SCCG) de consumidores em distintas culturas (países) na aquisição de marcas globais. A pesquisa empírica consistiu de um survey com uso de questionário pela Internet, direcionado a estudantes universitários e profissionais procedentes de carreiras de ciências empresariais em distintos países. Os dados, um total de 467 questionários válidos, foram analisados sob duas abordagens metodológicas: (1) Teoria Clássica dos Testes (TCT) e (2) Teoria de Resposta ao Item (TRI). Ambas as abordagens justificadas pelos constantes questionamentos, identificados na literatura, ao uso de técnicas estatísticas aplicadas a escalas assumidas como intervalares, mas que na realidade são ordinais (tipo Likert). Os resultados foram divididos em três partes. A primeira, ao nível do modelo de mensuração, constou a relação positiva dos construtos subjacentes ao construto de SCCG. A segunda, ao nível do modelo estrutural, verificou que o construto de SCCG antecede a intenção de compra de uma marca global. Por fim, em terceiro lugar, sob a abordagem da TRI, escolhida por apresentar maiores vantagens sobre a TCT, constatou-se que não existem efeitos invariantes nas relações do framework proposto quando comparados quatro países, mas sim existem, em alguns casos, quando comparados pares de países. De forma geral, a presente tese traz uma contribuição teórica-empírica ao propor um framework mensurável da suscetibilidade para a cultura de consumo global, que reflete o desejo dos consumidores para adquirir e usar marcas globais. A tese é finalizada com a descrição das conclusões, implicações, limitações e direcionamentos futuros sobre o framework proposto e salienta a utilização da abordagem TRI como complemento à abordagem da TCT, amplamente usada em pesquisa sobre o comportamento do consumidor. / More than half of the world population lives in towns and cities which have been directly and immediately influenced by globalization. In this scenario, many multinational companies are changing their brand portfolios in favor of global brands. This situation arises the concept of global consumer culture - a set of symbols related to consumption and behaviors that are commonly understood, but not necessarily shared, by consumers and businesses around the world. This concept depends on the susceptibility to global consumer culture (SCCG), a characteristic or latent trait of consumers that varies across individuals and is reflected in the consumers willingness or trends to purchase and consume global brands. According to the literature reviewed, this trait is related to the trend of global consumption, quality perception, social prestige, social responsibility, brand credibility, perceived risk and cost of information stored. It is in this context that this thesis will distinguish and verify the impact of latent traits of the susceptibility to global consumer culture (SCCG) of consumers from different cultures (countries) in the acquisition of global brands. For this purpose, a questionnaire was administered via the Internet, through a snowball sampling, aimed at students and business professionals from different countries. The data, a total of 467 valid questionnaires were analyzed under two approaches: (1) Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT). Both are justified by the constant literature questioning about the use of statistical techniques applied to scales assumed to be interval, but which in reality are ordinal (Likert). The results were divided into three parts. The first one, at the level of the measurement model, it was found a positive relationship between the subjacent constructs to the SCCG construct. The second one, at the structural model level, found that the SCCG construct precedes the global brand purchase intention. Finally, the TRI approach was chosen because it presents major advantages over the TCT, as there is no invariant effects on the framework relations proposed compared to the four countries, but there are some cases when compared to pairs of countries. Overall, this thesis provides a theoretical and empirical contribution due to a measurable framework of the susceptibility to global consumption culture, which reflects consumers\' desire to acquire and use global brands. The thesis concludes stating the findings, implications, limitations and future directions of the proposed framework and emphasizes the use of the IRT approach as a complement to the TCT approach, widely used in consumer behavior.

Mais da metade da população no mundo vive em povoados e cidades. Estes lugares correspondem àqueles que têm sido imediata e diretamente influenciados pela globalização. Nesse cenário, muitas empresas multinacionais estão alterando seus portfólios de marcas em favor de marcas globais; essa situação faz com que surja o conceito de cultura de consumo global - conjunto de símbolos relacionados ao consumo e comportamentos que são comumente entendidos, mas não, necessariamente, compartilhados pelos consumidores e negócios ao redor do mundo. Isso dependeria da suscetibilidade para a cultura de consumo global (SCCG), uma característica ou traço latente dos consumidores que varia através dos indivíduos e é refletido no desejo dos consumidores ou tendências para a aquisição e uso de marcas globais. Esse traço, pela literatura revisada, compreenderia a conformidade com a tendência de consumo global, percepção de qualidade, prestígio social, responsabilidade social, credibilidade de marca, risco percebido e custo de informação armazenada. É nesse contexto, portanto, que se insere a presente tese, ao caracterizar e verificar o impacto dos traços latentes da suscetibilidade para a cultura de consumo global (SCCG) de consumidores em distintas culturas (países) na aquisição de marcas globais. A pesquisa empírica consistiu de um survey com uso de questionário pela Internet, direcionado a estudantes universitários e profissionais procedentes de carreiras de ciências empresariais em distintos países. Os dados, um total de 467 questionários válidos, foram analisados sob duas abordagens metodológicas: (1) Teoria Clássica dos Testes (TCT) e (2) Teoria de Resposta ao Item (TRI). Ambas as abordagens justificadas pelos constantes questionamentos, identificados na literatura, ao uso de técnicas estatísticas aplicadas a escalas assumidas como intervalares, mas que na realidade são ordinais (tipo Likert). Os resultados foram divididos em três partes. A primeira, ao nível do modelo de mensuração, constou a relação positiva dos construtos subjacentes ao construto de SCCG. A segunda, ao nível do modelo estrutural, verificou que o construto de SCCG antecede a intenção de compra de uma marca global. Por fim, em terceiro lugar, sob a abordagem da TRI, escolhida por apresentar maiores vantagens sobre a TCT, constatou-se que não existem efeitos invariantes nas relações do framework proposto quando comparados quatro países, mas sim existem, em alguns casos, quando comparados pares de países. De forma geral, a presente tese traz uma contribuição teórica-empírica ao propor um framework mensurável da suscetibilidade para a cultura de consumo global, que reflete o desejo dos consumidores para adquirir e usar marcas globais. A tese é finalizada com a descrição das conclusões, implicações, limitações e direcionamentos futuros sobre o framework proposto e salienta a utilização da abordagem TRI como complemento à abordagem da TCT, amplamente usada em pesquisa sobre o comportamento do consumidor. / More than half of the world population lives in towns and cities which have been directly and immediately influenced by globalization. In this scenario, many multinational companies are changing their brand portfolios in favor of global brands. This situation arises the concept of global consumer culture - a set of symbols related to consumption and behaviors that are commonly understood, but not necessarily shared, by consumers and businesses around the world. This concept depends on the susceptibility to global consumer culture (SCCG), a characteristic or latent trait of consumers that varies across individuals and is reflected in the consumers willingness or trends to purchase and consume global brands. According to the literature reviewed, this trait is related to the trend of global consumption, quality perception, social prestige, social responsibility, brand credibility, perceived risk and cost of information stored. It is in this context that this thesis will distinguish and verify the impact of latent traits of the susceptibility to global consumer culture (SCCG) of consumers from different cultures (countries) in the acquisition of global brands. For this purpose, a questionnaire was administered via the Internet, through a snowball sampling, aimed at students and business professionals from different countries. The data, a total of 467 valid questionnaires were analyzed under two approaches: (1) Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT). Both are justified by the constant literature questioning about the use of statistical techniques applied to scales assumed to be interval, but which in reality are ordinal (Likert). The results were divided into three parts. The first one, at the level of the measurement model, it was found a positive relationship between the subjacent constructs to the SCCG construct. The second one, at the structural model level, found that the SCCG construct precedes the global brand purchase intention. Finally, the TRI approach was chosen because it presents major advantages over the TCT, as there is no invariant effects on the framework relations proposed compared to the four countries, but there are some cases when compared to pairs of countries. Overall, this thesis provides a theoretical and empirical contribution due to a measurable framework of the susceptibility to global consumption culture, which reflects consumers\' desire to acquire and use global brands. The thesis concludes stating the findings, implications, limitations and future directions of the proposed framework and emphasizes the use of the IRT approach as a complement to the TCT approach, widely used in consumer behavior.

Yes / The concept of acculturation has been based on the assumption of an adaptation process, whereby immigrants lose aspects of their heritage cultures in favour of aspects of a host culture (i.e. assimilation). Past research has shown that acculturation preferences result in various possibilities and influence consumption behaviour. However, the impact of social media on consumer acculturation is underexplored, although the social purpose and information sharing online is utilized for a variety of social purposes. Recent studies have shown the transformation from an offline to an online context, in which social networks play an integral part in immigrants’ communications, relationships and connections. This study merges the views from a number of leading contributors to highlight significant opportunities and challenges for future consumer acculturation research influenced by social media. The research provides insights into the impact of social media on consumer acculturation. / We are grateful to Emerging Markets Research Centre (EMaRC), Swansea i-Lab (Innovation Lab), and Department of Business at the School of Management, Swansea University for their financial support and organisation.

The effects of globalization has created a new global consumer segment known as Cosmopolitanism. It is a globally substantial segment that captures “open-minded individuals whose consumption orientation transcends particular cultures, localities or communities and who appreciates diversity including trying products and services from a variety of countries”. In the same sense have global brands grown to take a central place on both developing and developed countries, and their competition with local brands has substantially increased. The Cosmopolitan consumer segment hold major strategic importance for global brands, but the understanding of this new segment has been markedly limited, especially on consumption related behavioral outcomes such as brand loyalty. Taking on a cross-national, comparative approach, the purpose of this study was; to understand the association between Cosmopolitanism and global brand loyalty in developing and developed countries.  Collecting data through online questionnaires in Sweden and Syria, 341 respondents were included within the study, and with regression analyses were three proposed hypotheses tested. The results showed a significant, but arguably weak, association between Cosmopolitanism and global brand loyalty. On the other hand, upon introducing economic development status as a moderating variable, it was seen that the association differed between the sampled countries, with a considerably stronger association in Syria. Managerial implications are presented based on these findings, and the paper is finalized with some essential limitations and avenues for suture research.