How political identity and attitudinal spillover matter for consumption of place: Evidence from winter migrants in the United States

Understanding winter migration is relevant for marketing managers and consumer researchers, yet research on this important phenomenon remains scarce. Extending literatures on attitude formation and attitudinal spillover, political identity, and consumption of place, the current research shows that more conservative winter migrants from the United States score higher on consumer animosity and lower on consumer affinity toward Mexico. Affinity toward Mexico, but not animosity, is associated with sense of place and psychological ownership toward a popular winter migration destination, the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) in the United States, through attitudinal spillover. Furthermore, psychological ownership toward the RGV is associated with managerially relevant outcome variables, including revisit intention, word-of-mouth, and relocation intention. Tests for alternative explanations (ethnocentrism and xenocentrism) and unobserved heterogeneity are conducted, and the results are discussed in light of the extant literature.

Automated summary

Understanding winter migration is important for marketing managers and consumer researchers. This research shows that conservative winter migrants from the United States have higher consumer animosity and lower consumer affinity towards Mexico. Furthermore, affinity towards Mexico is associated with sense of place and psychological ownership towards the popular winter migration destination, the Rio Grande Valley. Psychological ownership towards the Valley is also linked to managerially relevant outcome variables such as revisit intention, word-of-mouth, and relocation intention.