Challenges in the Era of Globalization - iaabd

Challenges in the Era of Globalization
Edited by Emmanuel Obuah
encompassing, it can be inferred that this view will be applicable to various consumption issues such as
for food, clothing, other fashion products, and many other consumption issues.
As indicated in the foregoing, acculturation is closely linked to and embedded in the discussion of culture.
The significance of culture as a relevant factor in the explanation of some key consumption issues and
international marketing is becoming increasingly acknowledged (Steenkampt, 2001; Koudelova and
Whitelock, 2001; Ng et al, 2007). It is so significant that consumption choices simply cannot be
understood without considering cultural context in which consumers make them (Solomon, 2007).
Indeed, it shapes the meanings people ascribe to objects, behaviours, and environments embedded within
the consumption experience (Hartman, et al., 2009; Gbadamosi, 2010; 2011). According to Blythe (2009:
p.155) ‘culture establishes the values, attitudes, customary behaviour, language, religion and art of a
given group of people’. Hence, it …affects people’s tastes, preference for colours, and attitudes towards
product classes’ (Mühlbacher et al., 2006; p.182). These views thus show that one can logically contend
that clothing could be one of the key factors that indicate the cultural values of a particular society.
Hence, exploring purchase behavior among black African women in London especially in relation to
clothing is a clear topic under acculturation that could significantly enrich the literature.
Clothing, Consumption, and Women: Integrative Perspectives
The popularity of clothing as a topic of interest both in the academic and business circles is well
established and evident from the sheer number of studies that have been conducted on consumer behavior
within this context (see for example, Rowley 2009; Yoo et al., 1999; Oh and Florito, 2002; Chattalas and
Harper, 2007; Moody et al., 2010; Faust and Carrier, 2010; Jin et al., 2010; Chen-Yu et al., 2010). In
fact, apart from the wide availability of clothing for sale in various stores in the UK, it has also been
shown that the volume of clothes sold through the internet has increased steadily as all of the UK nonvalue
fashion retailers have their transactional websites while the value fashion retailers have a web site
through which they communicate with their target audience and establish their brand presence (IMRG,
2006; Rowley, 2009). With reference to Raunio (1982), Moody et al. (2010) show three factors as
relevant for the discussion of consumers’ preference for clothing. The first could be categorized as
physical features which include skin response, the shape and size of the clothes being considered, thermal
comfort, revealing levels and visual features. The second and the third of these factors are the users’ self
appearance and associative reasons and memories. Still citing Raunio (1982), Moody et al. (2010) explain
further that people choose clothing to cope with social circumstances and it could be used to create a
feeling of togetherness with others, to be distinctive, create an impression and control feeling, images and
impression of other people. This contribution is wide-ranging and useful as it shows that individuals
could buy a type of clothing for a variety of reasons which could be internal or external in nature. For
instance, Yoo et al. (1999) indicate size, product assortment, number and quality of stores, comfort,
attractiveness, and fabric quality as some of the problems why petite and tall consumers feel dissatisfied
with most apparel available. Similarly, a review of literature exposes some of the factors that influence
the purchase of designer clothing as aesthetics, better quality of materials, and status and image
(Kamenidou, 2007; Fogel and Schneider, 2010). In addition to these notions, Faust and Carrier (2010:
p.122) argue that ‘…a size label identifying inseam, waist, and hips measurements and providing a female
silhouette identifying the measuring points would not only convey better information but that it would
also be highly predictive of the garment (pants in this case) that women would find fitting’. Obviously,
this could be linked to the perspective of Ko et al. (2010) who postulate that consumer values as reflected
in clothing advertisements are functional, social, emotional and epistemic values. As useful, wideranging,
and thought-provoking as these views appear, they still do not explicitly provide explanation of
the relevance of these factors to Black African Women immigrants in London, hence this lacuna still
remains inadequately explored and the associated issues are yet to be unpacked. Nevertheless, it has been
stated that a relatively small and geographically fragmented ethnic minority community might not be
accessible to a new member that has just arrived into the system; hence the individual may be forced to
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