Acculturative stress and consumption‐based coping strategies among first‐generation Asian‐Indian immigrants in the United States

Despite increasing evidence that first‐generation Asian‐Indian immigrants experience acculturative stress in the United States, there is limited research on their coping strategies for acculturative stress. Based on frameworks of the compensatory consumer behavior model and symbolic self‐completion theory, we proposed a conceptual model delineating the relationships between the predictors and coping behaviors for acculturative stress. Through conducting an online survey ( n = 234) with first‐generation Asian‐Indians in the United States, and analyzing the data with structural equation modeling, we evinced that: (a) the first predictor, commitment to ethnic identity positively influences acculturative stress, and the coping behaviors, usage of ethnic symbols and purchase intent for ethnic products; (b) further, acculturative stress partially mediates the relationship between commitment to ethnic identity and purchase intent for ethnic products; (c) the second predictor, ethnic identity self‐discrepancy positively influences acculturative stress and usage of ethnic symbols, whereas, it negatively influences purchase intent for ethnic products; and (d) acculturative stress fully mediates the relationship between ethnic identity self‐discrepancy and purchase intent for ethnic products. Theoretical, marketing, and societal implications of the findings are discussed. Importantly, brands can facilitate long‐term emotional bonds with this population by offering a wider variety of symbolic Indian ethnic products that offer the potential to alleviate or cope with acculturative stress.