Wanderlust and local choices: Unveiling digital nomads’ preference for local brands through emotion, countryphilia, and identity

Purpose - Our work investigates digital nomads’ consumption adaptation through a preference for local brands when visiting a specific host country. We develop a theoretical framework that explores the effects of digital nomads’ relationships with local brands, specifically examining the role of positive emotions, countryphilia, and affiliation with national and peer groups.

Design/methodology/approach – We adopt a positivist research approach and conduct the preliminary and main studies by collecting data via online questionnaires from a sample of digital nomads residing in Croatia.

Findings – We find that digital nomads who experienced positive emotions during their stay had a stronger countryphilia. The results also show that countryphilia increases the preference for local brands, especially among digital nomads who do not identify with their home country. However, we also find that belonging to their peer group suppresses this effect.

Research limitations/implications – This study contributes to a better understanding of the driving forces behind digital nomads’ consumption decisions by shedding light on the importance of positive emotions, countryphilia and the contingent effects of digital nomads’ associations with national and peer groups.

Practical implications – This study provides insights into digital nomads’ preferences for local brands and offers key insights into how emotions, connections to the host country and identification with social groups drive these preferences. To this end, it provides marketing managers and destination management organizations with practical guidelines on how to effectively communicate their offerings and their country as a brand to digital nomads.

Originality/value – This study represents a first attempt to shed light on digital nomads’ connections to local brands by building on previous findings from research on other mobile groups (sojourners, affluent migrants and other lifestyle travelers) and seminal works on nomadism. The novelty of the study lies in its examination of consumer behavior within a unique segment of lifestyle travelers who, while sharing some similarities with other mobile groups, have unique lifestyle characteristics that significantly influence their consumption choices.