Browsing by Author "Deligonul, Seyda Z."

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The "Trickle-Across" Phenomenon: Consumption-Mimicking in Emerging Markets in a Stress Environment
(Emerald Group Publishing Ltd, 2025) Gungordu Belbag, Aybegum; Deligonul, Seyda Z.; Uner, Mehmet Mithat; Cavusgil, S. Tamer
Purpose - This study conceptualizes a novel framework called the "trickle-across" phenomenon to understand how middle-class consumers in emerging markets adapt their consumer behavior during economic crises. Unlike the trickle-down model based on upward emulation, the study explores how risk and uncertainty drive consumers to mimic their in-group. Design/methodology/approach - The study employs a conceptual review approach, synthesizing the crisis literature on middle-class consumer behavior across emerging markets. It offers four novel propositions to explain the socio-psychological underpinnings of the shift in middle-class consumer behavior. Findings - Under normal, low-anxiety conditions, middle-class consumers seek upward mobility through aspirational consumption and class emulation, referred to as trickle-down theory. However, during crises, heightened risk anxiety triggers a shift from upward emulation to lateral mimicry, where individuals conform to the consumption norms of their immediate social cohort. Socio-cultural influences play a critical role in risk trivialization and adapting to economic hardships. Originality/value - The study proposes the trickle-across phenomenon as a defining pattern of middle-class consumer behavior in emerging markets during crises. It shifts the focus from aspirational models to cohort-based survival strategies and highlights how socio-cultural factors help middle-class consumers adapt to economic hardships and preserve identity. The framework provides new insights for marketers, policymakers, and scholars.