Bridging cultural gaps through consumption: how social media and perceived value shape international students’ purchase intentions in China

Introduction With the rapid growth of the international student population in China, understanding their cross- cultural consumption behavior has become increasingly important. However, existing studies have primarily focused on immigrants or long- term residents, leaving the psychological transformation process from value perception to consumption integration among short- term international students largely underexplored. Methods This study integrates perceived value theory, cultural adaptation theory, social identity theory, and the theory of planned behavior to construct a dual- mediation and dual- moderation framework. Survey data were collected from international students studying in China, yielding 450 valid responses. Structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed hypotheses. Results The results show that: (1) product value and service value influence purchase intention through two parallel mechanisms – an adaptation- based pathway (value → cross- cultural consumption adaptation → cultural identity → purchase intention) accounting for over 50% of the total mediating effect, and an emotional pathway (value → emotional value → purchase intention) explaining approximately 35%; (2) cross- cultural consumption adaptation has a strong effect on cultural identity β = 0.553, p < 0.001), indicating that cultural adaptation is a key prerequisite for identity formation; (3) social media usage significantly moderates both pathways, with high- frequency users demonstrating greater efficiency in translating perceived value into purchase intention. Conclusion This study extends sociocultural adaptation theory to the consumption context by conceptualizing cross-cultural consumption adaptation as a multidimensional construct encompassing cognitive, emotional, and behavioral adaptation to host-country consumption practices. The study develops a three-dimensional measurement framework, identifies both adaptation-based and emotional mediating mechanisms, and reveals the dual moderating role of social media. Practically, the findings provide empirical evidence for firms to design differentiated cross-cultural marketing strategies and for universities to develop support systems that facilitate international students’ cultural adaptation. Limitations include the use of cross-sectional data and potential sample representativeness issues. Future research could employ longitudinal or experimental designs to further validate the proposed mechanisms.