Author Identifier
Rongrong Cai: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9771-5608
Date of Award
2025
Document Type
Thesis
Publisher
Edith Cowan University
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
School
School of Business and Law
First Supervisor
Sam Huang
Second Supervisor
Gregory Willson
Third Supervisor
Joanna Pearce
Abstract
In an increasingly digitised world, migrants constantly advocate online for their places of residence. Migrant residents can be strong destination marketers, and such behaviour complements migrants’ other types of behaviour benefiting a destination. Despite this, there is a lack of existing research into migrant residents’ contributions to destination marketing.
To address the research gap and facilitate a comprehensive understanding of migrant residents’ active roles in destination marketing, this study first proposed the concept of pro-destination marketing behaviour (PDMB), defined as any behaviour taken by any actor pertinent to a destination that can contribute to the achievement of destination marketing. Aiming to identify the manifestations of migrant residents’ PDMB towards their residential place and reveal the underlying mechanism of their intention to conduct such behaviour, this study adopted a mixed methods approach. Chinese migrant residents in Western Australia (WA) were the focus of the case study because of their strong presence in WA and potential influence on the important Chinese tourist market. The first qualitative phase identified six types of PDMB from interviews with 30 Chinese migrant residents in WA, namely, word of mouth (WOM), hosting visiting friends and relatives (VFR), spontaneous helping, gift giving, volunteering and altruism. The two most frequent types of PDMB, WOM and hosting VFR, were examined in the subsequent quantitative phase. Using data collected from 417 respondents, an integrated model based on the theory of planned behaviour, place attachment and ethnic identity was tested by employing structural equation modelling. The results suggest that place identity directly influenced respondents’ attitudes towards and intention to conduct their PDMB. Ethnic identity directly affected respondents’ attitude towards conducting PDMB and indirectly affected their intention to conduct PDMB in relation to their residential place via the corresponding attitude. Respondents’ attitudes towards conducting PDMB also positively influenced their intention to conduct such behaviour.
This thesis expands the destination-marketing knowledge by illuminating how migrant residents contribute to the destination through their PDMB, a previously overlooked practical implications for industry practitioners to utilise migrant residents to develop key target markets and achieve success in destination marketing. phenomenon. It also develops and tests an integrative model to explain migrant residents’ intention to conduct PDMB for their residential place. Further, the thesis offers invaluable
DOI
10.25958/ezbn-1v34
Access Note
Access to this thesis is embargoed until 12th August 2027
Recommended Citation
Cai, R. (2025). Migrant residents’ pro-destination marketing behaviours towards their residential place: A case study of Chinese migrant residents in Western Australia. Edith Cowan University. https://doi.org/10.25958/ezbn-1v34