Neolocalism of craft brewery experience: Scale development and validation study

Abstract

Neolocalism as a conscious effort to actively seek out a sense of place with local communities, has been growing rapidly among craft breweries’ customers in recent years. Oftentimes served as a marketing strategy, neolocalism also aids in local communities’ sustainable development. However, it is unclear what constitutes “local” in craft brewery settings, though in this fast-growing industry, neolocalism has been implemented extensively to attract visitors. So far, assessments of neolocalism have been predominantly conceptual and qualitative, with an empirically validated neolocalism measurement scale unavailable. Taking a mixed-methods approach, this study addressed this gap and developed and validated a neolocalism scale with a two-factor structure (sense of belonging and local roots) to understand what experience elements project the sense of “local” for brewery visitors. This study provides practical implications for craft brewery marketing and visitor experience management.