Situational Ethnicity and Consumer Behavior

The role of situational ethnicity in consumption behaivor is examined, and the relationship between ethnicity and consumption is argued to be affected by the situational contexts in which choices are made. Situational effects are proposed to operate through changes in the level of felt ethnicity and in the relationship between felt ethnicity and behavior. An empirical study demonstrates these effects by showing the impact of two situational dimensions--social surroundings and antecedent conditions--on ethnic food choices. Copyright 1989 by the University of Chicago.