Navigating identity online: a cross-national study of the social media and consumer behaviors of Indian immigrants and their descendants

Purpose This paper aims to focus on members of the ethnic Indian diaspora living in the USA (Study 1) and Canada (Study 2) by examining the interplay of social media use (SMU) and four social identity-related constructs (ethnic identity, acculturation, cosmopolitanism, and identification with global consumer culture), and its effects on four behaviors (materialism, market-mavenism, ancestral-country consumer ethnocentrism, and social media addiction). Design/methodology/approach After verifying the metric and configural invariance of the model across the country datasets, using SEM, the hypothesized direct relationships were tested, and indirect relationships were assessed. Findings All four social identity-related constructs affected SMU, and these findings were mostly consistent across the studies. SMU was in turn, a strong direct predictor of three out of four consumer behaviors, with most results corroborated across the two studies. Research limitations/implications Analyses of the indirect effects of social identity-related constructs (via SMU) on the outcome behaviors provides insights into why some discrepancies emerged. This investigation advances theory by moving from cross-ethnic comparisons to within-ethnicity, cross-context analyses, thereby clarifying when and why the linkages among identity, SMU, and behavior may vary across acculturative settings. Practical implications Practically, this research offers actionable insights for marketers and policymakers seeking to engage diverse and growing minority segments. Social implications From a consumer well-being perspective, analyzing these constructs conjointly with SMU clarifies pathways toward positive adaptation and identity integration, as well as trajectories associated with materialism or addictive engagement. Originality/value Interpersonal communication has long been recognized as a key driver of information exchange and consumer behavior. Increasingly, these interactions occur in virtual environments; however, despite growing scholarly attention, limited research has examined how SMU shapes the marketplace behaviors of ethnic minority consumers. Because identity is central to self-concept and the human need for belonging strongly motivates social interaction, understanding these dynamics is critical. This research investigates how social identity orientations toward ingroups and outgroups influence SMU among ethnic minority consumers and how, in turn, SMU shapes their marketplace behaviors.