Insensitivity of transnational corporations to consumer needs

Producing the goods which respond to the real needs of individuals in the light of their social and economic conditions is a general problem.

The issue is particularly important in developing countries. Since products of transnational corporations are often geared to the consumption patterns of industrialized countries, the needs of the majority of the population in poor countries may not be fulfilled. Consumers may be induced through intensive advertising to buy goods which otherwise they would not have felt they needed. Given the limited financial means of the great majority of the population of developing countries, such practices may lead to the diversion of scarce resources from basic needs to less basic ones.