Navigating Dual Identities: How Bicultural Consumers Leverage Luxury Consumption to Cope with Perceived Discrimination and Enhance Well-Being

Abstract:

This study integrates social identity, acculturation, self-discrepancy, and compensatory consumption theories to investigate how bicultural individuals use luxury consumption to cope with perceived discrimination. The proposed framework highlights the moderating role of Bicultural Identity Integration (BII) and the mediating role of relative deprivation. Three experimental studies test this framework. Study 1 manipulates levels of perceived discrimination and investigates its effect on luxury consumption, moderated by BII. Individuals with low BII are expected to show stronger consumption responses to discrimination than those with high BII. Study 2 explores motivational differences, using message framing and product evaluations to assess preferences for extrinsic (e.g., status) versus intrinsic (e.g., self-expression) product attributes. Low-BII individuals are anticipated to favor extrinsic motives, while high-BII individuals lean toward intrinsic ones. Study 3 tests whether relative deprivation mediates the link between discrimination and luxury consumption, using scenario-based manipulations and behavioral measures. This research offers theoretical insights into how identity-based stress influences consumer behavior and underscores the importance of BII in shaping compensatory responses. It also provides practical implications for marketers and policymakers by revealing how luxury products serve as tools for coping, self-affirmation, and identity negotiation among bicultural consumers.