A Serial Mediation Model of Identity and Acculturation Antecedents of Market Mavenism among Chinese Immigrants
(A2019-7124)

AUTHORS

Mark Cleveland, University of Western Ontario; Boris Bartikowski, Kedge BS

KEYWORDS

market mavenism; cultural identities; acculturation

ABSTRACT

Since immigration accounts for most of the population growth in Western countries, it is increasingly important for firms to be able to understand and predict immigrants’ marketplace behaviors. Using a serial mediation model and focusing on Chinese immigrants living in France and Canada, we investigate how ethnic and global consumer identities, as well as the individual trait of cosmopolitanism, nurture or stifle acculturation to the mainstream society and thereafter, social interactions with mainstream society members and with fellow ethnic Chinese. We then demonstrate the direct and indirect effects of these variables on market mavenism. The importance of word-of-mouth communications—particularly within traditionally collectivistic ethnic cultures, whereby sensitivity to the opinions of relevant others is especially pronounced—implies that targeting influential individuals within a given group is a more efficient approach for directing promotional efforts, compared to targeting that group of consumers as a whole.