Research on the Construction of Consumer Identity under the Perspective of Intercultural Communication

In intercultural communication, the identification of cultural identity is a process of constantly updating and transforming one’s cultural identity, which is well exemplified in international advertisements. Lifestyles, values and personal characters conveyed by international advertisements can unconsciously construct or reconstruct the cultural identity of target audiences, which would motivate their purchasing to a great extent. Under the guidance of cultural identity theory, this thesis theorize and discusses how consumer identity is communicated, constructed, and consumed in the cross-cultural advertising through explicit and implicit processes. Findings of the research reveal that consumer identity construction is not a static and fixed process but a dynamic process in which different identities have been constructed in the selected cross-cultural advertisements. In addition, the present research finds that the constructed identity serves as a persuasive means to induce audiences to make symbolic consumption.