It’s who you know: intracultural differences in ethnic product consumption

Abstract

Reports a study of 214 Chinese Canadian consumers across eight product categories. This study shows that intracultural differences in consumer behavior are inadequately explained by the psychological construct of ethnic identification, and that additional explanatory power is achieved when incorporating the ethnic homogeneity of social ties. The results of the study support the proposition that the ethnic homogeneity of strong social ties exerts significant influence over an individual’s consumption of ethnic products, and is a much more robust predictor variable than ethnic identification. Also calls for a more theory‐based measure for the construct ethnic identification.

Breaking bread with Abraham’s children: Christians, Jews and Muslims’ holiday consumption in dominant, minority and diasporic communities

“…Product categories in which this effect has been found include apparel (Forney and Rabolt 1985;Kim and Arthur 2003), foods (Laroche et al 1998;Xu et al 2004), soft drinks (Chung and Fischer 1999), and entertainment including movies, music, and cultural performances (Xu et al 2004). Heightened ethnic identity also impacts broader marketing phenomena, such as brand loyalty (Donthu and Cherian 1994).…”

Global connectivity, local consumption, and Chinese immigrant experience

“…The business literature suggests a close relationship between ethnicity and consumption pattern (Venkatesh 1995;Chung and Fischer 1999), as revealed by the study of Italian Canadians on their choice of traditional Italian food items (Laroche et al 1998). This paper extends the above-mentioned work by marketing scientists on the ties between ethnic identity and product consumption to exploring the role of ethnic identity in store patronage.…”

An investigation of Chinese immigrant consumer behaviour in Toronto, Canada

“…In academia, recent studies have examined the distinct characteristics and consumption patterns of ethnic minority populations, of which a large proportion are immigrants. Much attention has been focused on the relationship between ethnicity, ethnic identity, and consumption Cherian, 1992, 1994;Venkatesh, 1995;Hui et al, 1998;Rossiter and Chan, 1998;Laroche et al, 1998;Chung and Fischer, 1999), and the impact of acculturation and assimilation on consumption practices (Webster, 1994;Lee and Tse, 1994;D'Rozario and Choudhury, 2000;Eastlich and Lotz, 2000;Laroche and Tomiuk, 2001).…”