Gungordu Belbag, AybegumDeligonul, Seyda Z.Uner, Mehmet MithatCavusgil, S. Tamer01. Atılım University05. School of BusinessBusinessTourism Management2025-12-052025-12-0520251746-88091746-881710.1108/IJOEM-08-2024-14712-s2.0-105022736282https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOEM-08-2024-1471https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14411/10965Purpose - 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.eninfo:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccessMiddle-Class ConsumersEconomic CrisisEmerging MarketsTrickle-AcrossRiskArticle