Increasing internationalisation in organisations demands further research on acculturation within international business (IB). Based on triangulated qualitative data on South Asian diasporas’ food consumption in the UK and Bahraini contexts, we introduce two acculturative orientations: essentialism and boundary spanning. We contribute to literature by linking acculturative orientations with relevant drivers and resulting adoption and adaptation of cultures to offer a new perspective towards analysing (im)migrants’ appropriation of culture in personal and work settings. We push the boundary of IB research by highlighting and enriching the understanding of, and reciprocity between, social and occupational contexts that shape (im)migrants’ acculturation.

组织国际化程度的提高要求进一步研究国际商务 (IB) 中的文化适应。基于英国和巴林背景下南亚侨民食品消费的三角定性数据，我们介绍了两种文化适应取向：本质主义和边界跨越。我们通过将文化适应性取向与相关驱动因素以及由此产生的文化采纳和适应联系起来，为文学做出贡献，从而为分析（移民）移民在个人和工作环境中对文化的挪用提供了新的视角。我们通过突出和丰富对塑造（移民）移民文化适应的社会和职业背景的理解以及它们之间的互惠来推动 IB 研究的边界。