Abstract
I view the research articles presented here as prototypical examples of what may be called “the new wave” in studying Asian markets and consumers. This emerging “new wave” has a different focus than research done over the last few decades. Research is shifting from an emphasis on traditional Asian culture toward a focus on consumer culture and how this consumer culture manifests itself in various Asian markets. The “new wave” research also focuses less on general concepts and more on uniquely Asian phenomena. Finally, methodologically research is shifting from “East” vs. “West” comparisons toward in depth studies of certain Asian markets and consumers and toward comparing among them. In this essay, I will explain each of these three developments in more detail and illustrate them with papers published in this issue.