This book focuses primarily on business strategy and decision-making as it relates to India's consumer markets. It explores various market strategies and examines the failures of those companies that tried - but failed - to enter the Indian market in the 1990s. The book also looks at the possibility that the centre of gravity of the global consumer market might be shifting from the West to China and India. Featuring one-of-a-kind insights into the unique makeup of the Indian market, this book offers an enlightening look at the consumer future.

How to understand human behaviour has been a very intriguing question to medicine, computer science, economics, psychology and finance. Each discipline has been trying to study and predict human behaviour through surveys, laboratory-based experiments, questionnaires, interviews, statistics, focus groups; the list is endless. The lack of precision in the existing techniques to predict human behaviour has motivated researchers to move beyond the traditional and search for new and improved techniques. Neuroscience has stepped in to fill this gap. It is based on the assumption that human behaviour is a complex process which has a neural basis and the locus of this process is the higher centre of the brain. Both conscious and unconscious processing of stimulus in the brain is responsible for generating behaviour. So if we could develop a deeper understanding of how the brain functions to generate behaviour, we would be more confident in our understanding and prediction of consumer behaviour. The use of neuroscientific techniques, like functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), Electroencephalography (EEG), Evoked Response Potential (ERP), and sensors to measure changes in one's physiological state, to understand the mind of the consumer has just begun, and professionals in the field see a huge opportunity for neuromarketing in India. In the domain of neuromarketing, one important question relates to the distinction between Indian and other global consumers of commercial products. Are we different from consumers across the globe? The answer is probably ‘yes’. This is documented by the fact that we find a distinct change in the marketing strategy of companies; the methods to influence Indian consumers are different from those adopted in other countries. This gives rise to the question: what makes us different? The next logical question that arises, assuming that we are different or similar, is can we quantify it? Answering why, what and how we are different marks the beginning of the book, followed by issues related to the ethicality of using such techniques to promote marketing, risk analysis in case of failure and future directions in neuromarketing. The book intends to address each of these issues so that a comprehensive reading in the subject matter would help academicians to decipher consumer behaviour and build theory for possible principles of application in the market.

Brands and businesses from across the globe have tried to leverage the India opportunity, based upon simplistic and widely-held assumptions. This book takes a critical look at these myths and contradictions from an inside perspective, presenting a fresh and nuanced perspective on the opportunities that the Indian market offers. It draws upon a wealth of data, from consumer research, market data, macroeconomic research, popular culture and case studies, to provide a thorough and compelling insight into what makes for success in the complex Indian market, based upon two decades of experience.

Taking cues from economics, demography, history, culture, philosophy and good old common sense, Rama Bijapurkar makes sense of the complex and inscrutable Indian market-the many Consumer Indias, their diverse and schizophrenic consumer behaviour and the way to make your company's fortune in this billion-plus market. Irreverent and insightful, this book answers the questions to twelve key facets of Consumer India. Bijapurkar explains why the Indian consumer market is 'like that only', why it will not change in a hurry, and what it takes to develop a winning 'made for India' business strategy. 'Rama has developed a very strong case for learning about India on its own terms before investing. This book is a critical read for anyone considering building a large presence for themselves in India.'-From the Foreword by C. K. Prahalad, author of The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid

In the last two years, consumers have experienced massive changes in consumption – whether due to shifts in habits; the changing information landscape; challenges to their identity, or new economic experiences of scarcity or abundance. What can we expect from these experiences? How are the world's leading thinkers applying both foundational knowledge and novel insights as we seek to understand consumer psychology in a constantly changing landscape? And how can informed readers both contribute to and evaluate our knowledge? This handbook offers a critical overview of both fundamental topics in consumer psychology and those that are of prominence in the contemporary marketplace, beginning with an examination of individual psychology and broadening to topics related to wider cultural and marketplace systems. The Cambridge Handbook of Consumer Psychology, 2nd edition, will act as a valuable guide for teachers and graduate and undergraduate students in psychology, marketing, management, economics, sociology, and anthropology.

The subject of India's rapid growth in the past two decades has become a prominent focus in the public eye. A book that documents this unique and unprecedented surge, and addresses the issues raised by it, is sorely needed. Arvind Panagariya fills that gap with this sweeping, ambitious survey. India: The Emerging Giant comprehensively describes and analyzes India's economic development since its independence, as well as its prospects for the future. The author argues that India's growth experience since its independence is unique among developing countries and can be divided into four periods, each of which is marked by distinctive characteristics: the post-independence period, marked by liberal policies with regard to foreign trade and investment, the socialist period during which Indira Ghandi and her son blocked liberalization and industrial development, a period of stealthy liberalization, and the most recent, openly liberal period. Against this historical background, Panagariya addresses today's poverty and inequality, macroeconomic policies, microeconomic policies, and issues that bear upon India's previous growth experience and future growth prospects. These provide important insights and suggestions for reform that should change much of the current thinking on the current state of the Indian economy. India: The Emerging Giant will attract a wide variety of readers, including academic economists, policy makers, and research staff in national governments and international institutions. It should also serve as a core text in undergraduate and graduate courses that deal with Indias economic development and policies.