Dressed in latest international fashion brands, gulping from cans of imported cola and browsing through the Internet. . . this scene is taken for granted these days. But few realise that such a lifestyle is the result of globalisation: a process that India set into motion in 1991.
According to ACNielsen's latest Global Online Consumer Opinion Survey, most Indians agree that globalisation has improved their lives considerably: from gaining access to international news and entertainment, to enabling ownership of goods and services the same as anyone else in the world, to breaking down cultural differences and creating more job opportunities.
ACNielsen is among the world's leading marketing information providers.
Globalisation has also created a world of job opportunities. Over half of Latin Americans (57%) and consumers in the Asia-Pacific (53%) region believe that more global business in their markets brings greater job opportunities and better working lives.
For Indians (78%), globalisation means better job opportunity that helps them to shape their career better, followed by Filipinos (73%) and the Chinese (71%). Not surprisingly, six of the top 10 countries in agreement that globalisation brings about increased job and career opportunities hail from the Asia-Pacific region.
"Today, globalisation and, in particular, the Internet, have transformed commerce tremendously, creating new ways for retailers and businesses to market their products and interact with their customers, and for job seekers and recruiters to seek each other out," said Sarang Panchal, executive director, customised research, ACNielsen South Asia.
"Globalisation is impacting every sector and almost every part of our lives, whether through the advertisement and movies we see, the use of products or the transfer of talent in the sports industry from Asia to the US or Europe. Moreover, India's IT boom also has increased the demand for Indians across the world."
The ACNielsen global consumer opinion survey polled over 23,500 consumers online in 42 markets in Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, South Africa and Middle East.
Among the world's consumers, Latin Americans and Asians are the biggest supporters of Globalisation, and the value it adds to various aspects of their lives.
"Experiencing accelerated global integration, people in the relatively less developed or fast growing markets have greatly benefited from increased access to products, services and opportunities not possible without globalisation," said Panchal.
According to the ACNielsen survey, along with Indians consumers in the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and South Africa unanimously agree on the value of globalisation, while people in Greece and Thailand are comparatively more skeptical.
Access to news, entertainment from the world over
Three quarters of Latin Americans (75%) agree that with globalisation, they have greater access to news, entertainment and information from all over the world. People in Asia-Pacific were the next biggest supporters (70%).
Five out of the top 10 countries that agree globalisation gives them access to news, entertainment and information, hail from Asia-Pacific, led by 88 per cent of Malaysians, 79 per cent of Singaporeans and 78 per cent of Filipinos.
"Information technology is a driving factor in the process of globalisation. The emergence of numerous Internet-enabled news-gathering and dissemination outlets, chat rooms, bogging, instant messaging systems, e-mail, electronic bulletin boards and other Internet-based communication systems have made it much easier for people to communicate, exchange information and collaborate with each other," commented Panchal.
Getting same quality of goods, services globally
The breaking down of international trade barriers has enabled consumers around the world to enjoy a broader selection of goods and services previously not available to them. Most in agreement with this are 81 per cent of South Africans, followed by 77 per cent of Indians and 76 per cent of Filipinos. (Table 2)
At the other end of the spectrum, about one fifth of French, Koreans and Finns are unconvinced; possibly concerned that globalisation threatens the viability of locally made products and jobs.
Breaking down cultural borders
When it comes to the benefit of cross cultural understanding, people in Asia are in agreement. The majority of consumers in Taiwan (74%), Philippines (69%) and Malaysia (68%) agreed that globalisation helps break down borders and enables better understanding and tolerance of other cultures.
At the other end of the scale, 41 per cent of Thais, and a quarter of Australians disagree with this.
Local traditions under threat
Holding strong to their cultural values, Thais in particular (64%) agree that the spread of globalisation is a threat to local traditions and culture.
Following close behind are Austrians (62%) and Finns, Norwegians, and Swiss (each at 57%). In fact, eight of the top 10 markets who agree that globalisation threatened local traditions and culture hail from Europe, suggesting that these developed countries may feel more threatened by globalisation, than benefited by it.
Interestingly, 38 per cent of Americans felt that local traditions and cultures are threatened by globalisation, while many would argue that the United States has already heavily exerted its hegemonic influence on the rest of the world through popular culture and the news media.
Values change and life becomes impersonal
While overall, Latin Americans are generally supportive of globalisation, 59 per cent agree that it is changing their values and making life too fast and impersonal. Meanwhile, 47 per cent of Europeans also agree with this statement, further supporting their opposition to the spread of globalisation.
In the Asia-Pacific region, six in 10 Indians agree that globalisation is changing their values and making life too fast and impersonal. Thais (60%) ranked second in the region, followed by over half of Singaporeans. It is interesting to note that only 39 per cent of Americans agree with this notion.
Vulnerability to global trends
One of the reasons for some consumers to hold back from buying into globalisation could be the general feeling that globalisation has made the market economy in which they live in become more vulnerable and easier to be adversely affected by trends and events in the other parts of the world.
Across the Asia-Pacific, 66 per cent of New Zealanders and 62 per cent of Australians lead the top 10 countries globally who agree that globalisation makes them vulnerable to events elsewhere in the world , followed by Thais (60%), Malaysians (59%) and Singaporeans (56%).
"There are always two sides to a coin. Globalisation has its price," added Panchal "The survey findings for Asia-Pacific indicate exactly that, because while one in two people polled were positive about the benefits of globalisation, they aren't immune to its possible down-side."
About the survey
The ACNielsen Global Online Survey is conducted to gauge consumers' attitudes and opinions towards a variety of topical issues. The most recent survey took place in November 2005 and polled over 23,500 consumers -- regular Internet users -- in 42 markets in Europe, North and Latin America, Asia-Pacific region, Africa (Republic of South Africa) and the Middle East (the UAE).
© 2025