In Asia, strong economic growth goes hand in hand with increasing prosperity among the middle classes. This also results in more consumption. However, this consumption is more than just a move towards self-serving materialism and individualism. Together with his team, WU Professor Bodo B. Schlegelmilch compared the values of consumers in the US to those of consumers in China, India, and Thailand. The researchers found that consumption in collectivistic societies tends to be more pro-social than in individualistic societies. Professor Schlegelmilch is our September Researcher of the Month. This video offers insights into his current research.

Bodo B. Schlegelmilch is head of WU’s Institute for International Marketing Management and chair of the Management Board of the global accreditation services provider AMBA (Association of MBAs). In addition to heading his institute, he also served as founding Dean of the WU Executive Academy, which he headed as Dean until 2015. Professor Schlegelmilch also founded the Vienna Executive MBA, a program held in cooperation with the University of Minnesota. Under Schlegelmilch’s leadership, the Vienna Executive MBA became a top-50 program in the Financial Times rankings.

Professor Schlegelmilch’s research interests range from global marketing strategies to corporate social responsibility. His work has been published in leading international journals such as the Strategic Management Journal, the Journal of International Business Studies, and the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. In addition to around 150 academic journal articles, Bodo Schlegelmilch has also published over 10 academic books in English, Mandarin, and German.