The conceptualisation and measurement of bidimensional multigroup ethnic identity: A pilot study among US Hispanics

Abstract

The shifting demographic landscape is changing the USA — and marketing — in the most fundamental ways. Ethnic identity, which has been conceptualised as an enduring, fundamental aspect of the self, has been treated as a categorical variable by leading researchers. This approach has well-documented limitations. This paper proposes that ethnic identity should be measured bidimentionally in order to fully account for the racial and ethnic duality within ethnic segments in the USA. This paper uses syndicated data to examine the validity of testing a new approach to conceptualise and measure multigroup ethnic identity in order to align today’s changing multicultural population with the demographic trends of the 21st century. This paper finds noticeable behavioural and attitudinal differences within Hispanic consumers when using a proxy variable for ethnic identity (ie cultural identification). These noted differences highlight the limitations in using ‘ethnicity’ as a categorical variable (eg you are either Latino or you are not) and the need to evolve this construct in a country in which the US population is becoming more and more biracial and multi-ethnic. Implications and limitations of the pilot study are discussed.