Research Article Ethnic Identity Impact on Consumers’ Ethnocentric Tendencies: The Moderating Role of Acculturation and Materialism Manish Das 1 Debarshi Mukherjee 1 Abstract In the era of globalization and technological advancements, ethnic identity (EID) is creating both oppor- tunities as well as challenges for domestic and international marketers in formulating suitable marketing and branding strategies. This study attempts to investigate the role of EID in shaping consumers’ eth- nocentric tendencies (CET). By analyzing data obtained from 385 surveys completed by Indian consum- ers, the study assessed the association of EID dimensions and consumer ethnocentrism. The findings showed that Association with Local Culture, Preserving Local Culture, Feelings towards Local Culture and Local Interpersonal Relationship enhance consumers’ CET. Materialism strengthens the effects of association for three EID dimensions and ethnocentrism, whereas acculturation weakens the association for three dimensions of EID. This study contributes to the literature, especially in the understanding of social identity theory. Practically, the findings are useful to marketers and retailers dealing with consumers in India in formulating their cultural branding strategies. Keywords Consumer ethnocentrism, ethnic identity, acculturation, materialism, social identity theory, hierarchical moderated regression Introduction Ethnocentrism analyzes the world from one’s own cultural perspective. It views one’s own culture superior over others. William Graham Sumner (1906) originated the term ethnocentrism in the field of Management and Labour Studies 45(1) 31–53, 2020 © 2019 XLRI Jamshedpur, School of Business Management & Human Resources Reprints and permissions: in.sagepub.com/journals-permissions-india DOI: 10.1177/0258042X19890245 journals.sagepub.com/home/mls 1 Department of Business Management, Tripura University, Suryamaninagar, Agartala, Tripura, India. Corresponding Author: Manish Das, Department of Business Management, Tripura University, Suryamaninagar, Agartala, Tripura 799022, India. E-mail: manishdas@tripurauniv.in