2020 Conference

Political polarization, political orientation, psychology, political science, public policy

Recent research has highlighted how consumers' political values consciously and unconsciously shape behavior in the marketplace, but research in marketing has so far not considered how political polarization will magnify the effects of political orientation and uniquely impact the marketplace. In the current manuscript we introduce the political polarization construct to the marketing literature through a review of literature from political science and the presentation of a conceptual model which highlights the marketing relevant antecedents and consequences of the phenomenon. We contend political polarization has been driven by a collection of individual, group, and societal dynamics as well as an evolving information landscape. Political polarization then impacts consumers' psychology, which affects their behavior in the market. Political polarization, and its effects on consumers, in turn impacts corporate behavior and public policy, ultimately affecting societal welfare. Building from this model, we then present directions for future research which include developing a better understanding of how a changing information landscape interacts with individual, group, and societal dynamics to drive polarization, an examination of understudied consequences of political polarization, and consideration of the benefits of political polarization as well as its drawbacks.