Consumerism Culture in Urban Vietnam
Proceedings of NIDA International Business Conference 2019 Transforming Business to the Future
7 Pages Posted: 17 May 2019
Date Written: March 2, 2019
Abstract
This paper discusses the specific features of consumer culture derived from economic transition, the emergence of consuming class in cities and recent political history of the post-socialist era in Vietnam. To make sense of this, the paper draws on a body of scholarship specific to the Vietnamese context where materialism values, social status, and conformity are used as a part of on-going identity work by consumers in Vietnam. Focusing on the identity construction created through brand consumption, the empirical study particularly explores how the younger generation of urban consumers in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City define themselves to build a new image of emerging consumer force. The paper concludes by defining the potential and existent tension (a new global-local way) of consumption practices in contemporary Vietnam.
Keywords: Materialism, Culture, Urban, Consumerism
JEL Classification: M31
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation