Consumer Behavior Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Consumer Behavior - Research Proposal Example "Hostile attitudes towards expatriates held by many Gulf hosts are not conducive to successful interaction between the two groups. Many natives are alarmed by the erosive effect these expatriates may have on their local culture and identity" Atiyyah (1996). Some of the Non-resident Indians have gone into private banking and wealth management2. In UK South Asians are only 2% of the working age population; but their achievement is significant. Socio-cultural factors of long hours of work and socio-economic factors like higher education have contributed to their success. With delegation of responsibilities, and converting it into a family business with family members and friends help, trying to get cheaper labour from the community, these small entrepreneurs had been successful in creating capital and a comfortable life. "An important aspect not considered by ethnic resources and opportunities theory is the role of socio-economic resources such as the level of education and the class background of migrants, emphasised by Light (1984), in stimulating entrepreneurial entry and expansion" Basu and Goswamy (1999). They have They have managed well in small businesses with supporting ethnic clientele, previous business and professional experience, business inheritance in countries of origin, size of the starting up capital, informal capital from family and friends without interest and eliminating repaying pressure. They start in an extremely small way and this enables them to adjust and avoids difficult financial necessities. They have Asian clientele, ethnic labour, family support, and easy cash flow for expansion. The Indian-American group is described as: "The first group, who came to the USA in the 1960s, are generally well-educated successful men, with homemaker wives and adult children. The second group came in the 1970s and are also well educated. However, both the husband and wife are employed, and they typically have young children. The third group is generally less-educated and typically own motels and convenience stores (Mogelonsky, 1995)" from Kaufman-Scarborough (2000). They have achieved immense amount of success through socialization, consumer acculturation and traditional assimilation3. It is a fact that misconceptions exist due to media about this group. Organisations usually tend to over generalize certain similarities. They believe that all Indian population could be grouped together into a single segment. India is too large a country where regional dissimilarities are prominent. Another misconception is one Indian language is understood by all, which again is wrong, because there are hundreds of languages in India. Third one since all Indians seem to know English, it can be used to interview or advertise for them. Again this is wrong; they might know English, but not 'consumer English'4. Also it should be kept in mind that this group is growing rapidly due to education, mobilization and western need of IT experts, and cannot be