Conceptualizing the field. Consuming the other, marketing difference

Abstract

The idea of cosmopolitanism describes a social, cultural and political process whereby people can feel connection not only to local and national others and territories of belonging, but to the world as a whole. While the processes described by the concept are in large part enabled by transnational mobilities and aesthetic-consumptive mixing of people and things, making it an idea apparently well suited to a super-diverse, global age, the ethical demands associated with cosmopolitanism are complex and not necessarily directly tied to or based in such processes. This introductory chapter provides an overview of the usage of the concept and problematises linkages between consumption and cosmopolitan ethics. We begin by discussing these processes as they are based in research literatures within the fields of sociology and business and marketing studies, offering an overview of existing research linking cosmopolitanism and consumption. Additionally, we further delineate current challenges and questions emerging from the cosmopolitan agenda in studies of global marketplaces.