Publication Date
10-1-2023
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Tourism Management
Volume
98
DOI
10.1016/j.tourman.2023.104773
Abstract
Drawing on social identity theory and focus theory of norms, this study investigated differences in how destination residents respond to deviant behaviors by other residents—members of their in-group—and similar behavior by tourists, who they see as the out-group. We proposed and tested a conceptual model of the transition between in-group favoritism and the black sheep effect under the moderating effect of norm strength. A mixed-method approach, including a secondary data study and three scenario-based experiments, was applied. Findings of this study revealed that focal residents showed in-group favoritism for other residents' deviant behavior compared with tourists. The contagion effect of deviant behavior was stronger among in-groups than out-groups. However, with respect to behaviors about which norms are tight, the black sheep effect comes into play, as focal residents hold a higher desire to punish in-groups’ deviant behavior than the out-group. This study has theoretical and practical implications for destination marketing organizations.
Funding Number
19ZWB17
Funding Sponsor
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Keywords
Black sheep effect, Desire to punish, Desire to tolerate, Destination resident, Deviant behavior, In-group favoritism
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Department
Hospitality, Tourism, and Event Management
Recommended Citation
Lujun Su, Huixuan Chen, Yinghua Huang, and Xiuqiong Chen. "In-group favoritism or black sheep effect? The moderating role of norm strength on destination residents’ responses towards deviant behaviors" Tourism Management (2023). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2023.104773
