Beyond environmental concerns: using means–end chains to explore the personal psychological values and motivations of leisure/recreational cyclists

Abstract

This study employs the means–end chain approach to explore the psychological values that motivate leisure and recreational cyclists. In-depth personal interviews with 60 subjects in Taiwan supplied data. The paper notes the growing importance of cycling for sustainable tourism in general, and slow tourism in particular. It examines the existing literature on cycling's perceived benefits. It finds that in addition to having conscious environmental concerns, cyclists seek security in many personal ways; major intrinsic motivational factors include competence mastery, solitude, exploration, physical challenge, adventure experiences, stimulus seeking, social encounters, and relaxation/escapism. The research produced a summary chart called a hierarchical value map that characterizes the key linkages associated with the particular experience domain of cyclists. Core values include happiness, belongingness, self-esteem, and self-actualization, all of which appear to be the end-states that the cyclists’ goal-striving would like to achieve. The values reflect the leisure/recreational cyclists’ engagement in this activity to fulfil basic and higher-order needs, based on Maslow's theory of a five-level hierarchy of personal needs leading to self-actualization. The study's findings have implications for researchers and practitioners interested in developing sustainable tourism and recreational opportunities that target cycling subcultures. A range of future research needs are discussed.

环保意识—使用手段-目的链探索骑行旅游者的心理价值和动机

本研究采用的手段-目的链的方法来探索自行车旅游者的心理价值。通过对60位台湾参与者进行深度访谈来收集数据。本研究指出自行车旅游对可持续旅游特别是慢旅游的重要性日益增加。研究了现有的骑行的预期效益的文献。报告认为，除了有意识的注意环境问题，骑自行车的人通过多种方式寻求个人安全，主要有内在的激励因素，包括能力的掌握，孤独，探索，体能挑战，冒险，寻求刺激，社会交往和娱乐/逃避现实。这项研究绘制了一个分层价值图表来展示了参与者在骑行方面的经验。核心价值观包括：幸福，归属感，自尊和自我实现，所有这一切都似乎是骑自行车的人的最终奋斗目标。价值体现了休闲/休闲骑自行车的人“通过参与在本次活动来满足基本的和较高层次的需求，根据马斯洛五个层次结构个人的需求理论，最终会导致自我实现。这项研究的发现对于研究者和发展可持续的旅游业的参与者有启事作用，并对于自行车文化有重要影响。并且对于未来研究方向进行了讨论。

Keywords:

• leisure/recreational cycling
• means–end chain approach
• cycling motivations
• cyclist behaviour
• transport mode

关键词:

• 休闲/休闲骑行
• 手段/目的链研究方法
• 自行车行为
• 交通方式

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank three anonymous reviewers for their valuable suggestions and comments. Thanks are also extended to the editor, Professor Bernard Lane, for his assistance in editing the manuscript.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Chaang-Iuan Ho

Chaang-Iuan Ho is an associate professor in the Department of Leisure Services Management at Chaoyang University of Technology (Taichung, Taiwan). Her research interests include tourist behaviour, transport and tourism studies, Internet-based tourism information search, and e-commerce in the tourism industry.

Tsai-Yuan Liao

Tsai-Yuan Liao is an English teacher at Mingjian Junior High School, Nantou County, Taiwan. She holds an MBA degree at Chaoyang University of Technology (Taichung, Taiwan).

Shu-Chin Huang

Shu-Chin Huang is an assistant professor in the Department of Business Administration at Chaoyang University of Technology. Her research focuses on consumer behaviour, customer value, creativity, and marketing strategies.

Hui-Mei Chen

Hui-Mei Chen is an assistant professor in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at National Taiwan University (Taipei, Taiwan). Her area of expertise is recreation management, tourist behaviour, leisure/recreational activities planning, and landscape design.