The logical corollary is that middle-class Indians, like Americans, are also
becoming more willing to spend money. This is, however, not necessarily a
foregone conclusion. As Ger and Belk (1996, p. 271) point out, ``the processes of
change are not unidirectional and consequences are not simple adoption of new
Western values.'' As an example, a study in 41 countries by Furnham et al.
(1994) demonstrates that different cultures can have very different attitudes
toward spending money. While Indians may be becoming more Western in
their desire to consume, there is also evidence that they are remaining Indian in
their desire not to spend. ``Frustrated foreign managers now say that Indian
consumers are too price-conscious and perhaps even too impoverished for them
to make any money in the near future'' (The Economist, 1998, p. 66).