Special Issue on India

Abstract

This special issue focuses on India as an emergent and major global economy. The various articles selected for this issue provide an interesting set of perspectives that are facing the nation with the world’s second largest population. For macromarketing scholars, the issues addressed in this special issue are retail marketing developments; cultural issues concerning the most visible export of India, the “Bollywood” films; consumption choices in this growing economy; the rise of the middle class amid conditions of poverty; the gradual displacement of family businesses; and, finally, the branding of India for international travelers and cultural aficionados. Collectively, these articles make a significant contribution to the macromarketing literature. From a marketing standpoint, the story of resurgent India and the beginnings of a modern consumer economy begins in the early 1990s. That is, in spite of many challenges and some failed experiments, India is moving forward rather rapidly, and there are many critical signs of progress on several fronts. As observed by many, India is a land of contradictions and contrasts. While many languages are spoken in this nation, it is still able to act as a unified body politic and projects a unique national culture. Although nobody claims the country has reached a state of economic bliss, for poverty still haunts India, one can say that things are looking up and India is moving closer to self-sufficiency in some key sectors (e.g., agriculture) and is a global player in others (e.g., IT and software production). With an annual growth rate between 7 percent and 9 percent, India seems to be forging ahead. Other factors key to our analysis are the rise of the transnational elite and the emerging global Indian consumer, the large segment of youthful productive population, an inflow of foreign capital, and advancement of living conditions.