Toward a framework of product development for global markets: a user-value-based approach

This paper discusses product development for global markets from the perspective of creating value for users in different cultural settings. Based on an ethnographic study on the use of and the value assignment to kitchen appliances of 29 urban families in Turkey and the United States, it investigates what constitutes value for users and how user value is shaped by local and cultural context. Four major categories of user value are presented. These include utility value, social significance value, emotional value, and spiritual value. A conceptual framework is proposed to assist designers in global companies in (1) the evaluation of existing products in new local contexts; (2) the planning of local research; and (3) the process of decision-making regarding product localization and standardization.