Two-way acculturation: Rethinking cultural influence in a multicultural America
Abstract
Acculturation has traditionally been conceptualised as a one-way process in which minority groups adapt to a dominant majority culture. As the USA moves toward a multicultural majority, this paper reconsiders that assumption and proposes a two-way acculturation framework in which cultural influence is reciprocal and shaped through intergroup contact. Using a city-based design across Hispanic-dominant, Black-dominant and White-dominant contexts, the paper tests a moderated mediation model examining how race/ethnicity influences marketer-relevant attitudes through both current/direct and childhood intergroup contact. The findings show that intergroup contact significantly mediates relationships between race/ethnicity and three key outcomes: media representation perceptions, cultural diversity attitudes and multicultural advertising attitudes, with current/direct contact emerging as the stronger pathway. Results also indicate that these effects vary across city-majority contexts, highlighting the importance of local demographic environments in shaping exposure and interaction. The paper provides empirical support for a shift from unidirectional to reciprocal models of cultural influence and demonstrates that multicultural exposure plays a central role in shaping consumer attitudes. The findings suggest that multicultural marketing should be understood not as a niche strategy but as increasingly central to the broader marketplace in contemporary America. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.
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Author's Biography
Jake Beniflah is the founding Executive Director of The Center for Multicultural Science, a leading US nonpartisan multicultural marketing research think-tank. He is a senior lecturer in marketing at California State University, Fullerton, and the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Cultural Marketing Strategy. Dr Beniflah is also the author of The Big Shift: Redefining Marketing in a Multicultural America. A recognised expert in marketing in multicultural America, Jake has consulted for Fortune 100 companies for over 25 years. He earned his doctorate in business administration with a concentration in marketing from Golden Gate University.
Madeline Beniflah is a seasoned marketing and media strategist with over 30 years of experience leading both mainstream and multicultural initiatives across agency settings. She has developed and executed culturally informed campaigns targeting the US Hispanic and diverse consumer segments, driving relevance and growth for national clients. Madeline also brings her industry perspective into academic settings, most recently contributing to the TITANIAM Advertising Masterclass at California State University, Fullerton. Her work bridges strategic insight with cultural fluency, earning recognition for advancing inclusive marketing practices and helping brands authentically connect with an increasingly diverse consumer marketplace.
Javier Farfan is a global brand and consumer marketing consultant, cultural strategist and educator with more than 25 years of experience across marketing, communications and creative strategy. He is the founder of J Wolf Advisors and serves as an adjunct at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. His work has included advising major brands such as the NFL, AT&T, Amazon Music, New Balance, McDonald’s, MillerCoors, Roc Nation, PepsiCo, and many others.
