@article{MAKHILLTSS2016112824050,
    title = {The Influence of Pre-Immigration Elements in Malay Sojourner’s
Consumer Acculturation in the United States of America},
    journal = {The Social Sciences},
    volume = {11},
    number = {28},
    pages = {6734-6744},
    year = {2016},
    issn = {1818-5800},
    doi = {sscience.2016.6734.6744},
    url = {https://makhillpublications.co/view-article.php?issn=1818-5800&doi=sscience.2016.6734.6744},
    author = {Sharifah,Drew,Rani and},
    keywords = {Consumer acculturation,consumer behaviour,Malay sojourners,pre-immigration,identity},
    abstract = {This study described the pre-immigration elements that influence the Malay sojourner’s consumer
acculturation in the United States of America. The process of consumer acculturation involves the newcomer’s
acculturation into the dominant host culture’s attitudes, values and behaviors towards their consumerism.
Being an ethnic group which struggles to integrate into a dominant host culture and is quite ethnocentric in
their consumption behavior presents a need to examine the factors that could influence the Malay’s
consumption behavior. To achieve this objective, an examination on the Malay sojourners’ initial reactions to
the American market and their consumption patterns in the United States was conducted. The study employed
an exploratory qualitative method by examining the sojourners’ experiences through self-reports. This involved
15 in-depth interviews conducted with Malay sojourners in Washington, D.C.; Athens, Ohio; Columbus, Ohio
and Kalamazoo, Illinois. The sojourners consisted of students, expatriates, Malaysian Embassy staff and
spouses of the first three groups. The result showed that the Malay sojourners used symbolic consumption
to strengthen their existing identity built on faith and culture. They had to adjust their purchasing behaviour
due to the lack of Islamic compliant products in the American market. The ethnic group’s collectivistic nature
played an enormous part in their pre-purchase information search. These findings were discussed and
associated with the Malaysian local market, the Malay culture and Islamic practices in Malaysia.}
    }