Place attachment and pro-environmental behaviour in national parks: the development of a conceptual framework

Abstract

This paper critically examines the concept of place attachment and its likely influence on pro-environmental behavioural intention of visitors. It considers place attachment as a multidimensional construct comprising place dependence, place identity, place affect and place social bonding, and suggests that research investigating this relationship in a national park context is fragmented, scattered and often does not fully consider its multidimensional nature. A coherent and integrated approach is needed to advance the field. By considering place attachment as an attitude and acknowledging the close relationship between attitude and behavioural intention when both are directed towards a particular object or environment, the paper develops a conceptual framework that integrates the different place attachment sub-constructs. It presents their relationship to pro-environmental behavioural intention as a series of propositions. The framework further considers place satisfaction to exert a direct influence on visitors’ pro-environmental behavioural intentions in national parks and a moderating effect on the relationship between the different place constructs and pro-environmental behavioural intentions in parks. Finally, the latter construct is proposed to influence visitors’ general pro-environmental behavioural intentions. The paper's theoretical contributions, its limitations and its practical implications for sustainable tourism in general and national park management in particular are discussed.

在国家公园里的地域附属性和环境保护行为：一种概念性框架的发展

该文章批判性地讨论了地域附属性的概念和它对参观者环境保护的行为意向的可能影响。研究将地域附属性作为一种多面化的意向。这种意向由地域依赖性，地域身份，地域影响，和地域社会着附性组成。文章指出地域附属性在国家公园中的理解往往是片面的，零碎的，而不能反映它原本有的多方面的本性。因此一种综合的连贯的方法在这个领域是非常需要的。文章将地域附属性看成一种态度，并且认识到当态度和行为意向都指向一种特定的物体或环境，它们之间有着密切关系，以此，文章发展了一种概念化框架，将地域附属性的不同分支概念整合起来。该概念化框架显示了这些概念分支和环境保护行为意向的关系来作为一系列的主张建议。框架进一步利用地域满意化来对国家公园里的参观者环境保护行为意向施加直接影响，并且对公园里不同的地区构建和环境保护行为意向之间的关系有较重要的作用。最后，后者提到的地区构建可以影响参观者总体的环境保护行为意向。文章的理论贡献，局限程度，和对总体来讲和特别是国家公园管理来说的可持续旅游发展的实践建议都有讨论。

Keywords:

• place attachment
• attitude
• behavioural intention
• pro-environmental behaviour
• place satisfaction

关键词:

• 地域附属性
• 态度
• 行为意向
• 环境保护行为
• 地区满意

Notes

1. The conative is, with the affective and cognitive, one of the three parts of the mind. It drives how a person acts on thoughts and feelings and refers here to behaviour and activities (see Kyle, Mowen, et al., 2004).