Abstract:
While the seminal concept of the border dominates consumer acculturation theory, its centrality remains unchallenged. By crossing multiple disciplinary boundaries and integrating established re-conceptualisations of culture and identity, we found two recurring concepts which undermine the concept of the border: the concepts of cultural entanglement and complex identities. These established lenses underline the potentially divisive dangers of border thinking: over-emphasising the polarisation of cultures over their intersections and reducing consumers’ complex identities to their ethnic and national origins. We call for further reflection on and revision of our foundational metaphors in consumer acculturation research. Even as scholars of consumer acculturation are beginning to contend with the complexity of the border concept, in other disciplines, the idea of the border is vanishing. It would be useful to understand why.
