Reputation, subjective well-being, and environmental responsibility: the role of satisfaction and identification

ABSTRACT

Based on signaling theory, this study investigates how the perceived reputation of a destination impacts the environmentally responsible behavior (ERB) and subjective well-being (SWB) of tourists through satisfaction and identification with a destination, respectively. The findings support the proposed behavioral model. A total of 539 valid questionnaires were obtained from tourists to a natural ecology and historical culture destination in China and analyzed. The results show that destination reputation has a direct impact on tourists' satisfaction and identification with the destination. Satisfaction and identification with the destination both partially mediate the effect of perceived destination reputation on tourists' ERB and SWB. Findings suggest that enhancing perceptions of a destination's reputation is an important step in increasing tourists' SWB and strengthening their engagement in ERB. Discussion of the findings, research implications, and future research directions are provided.

KEYWORDS:

• Destination
• reputation
• satisfaction
• identification
• subjective well-being
• environmentally responsible behavior

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by the National Science Foundation for Young Scholars of China [grant number 71573279]; State Key Program of National Natural Science of China [grant number 71431006]; Innovation Driven Program of Central South University [grant number 2015CX10] and Tourism Young Expert Training Program [grant number TYEPT201436].

Notes on contributors

Lujun Su

Lujun Su, PhD, is an associate professor of Marketing in the Business School of Central South University; Collaborative Innovation Center of Resource-conserving & Environment-friendly Society and Ecological Civilization; Mobile E-business Collaborative Innovation Center of Hunan Province, Changsha, Hunan Province, China. His research interest includes destination marketing and tourist behavior.

Scott R. Swanson

Scott R. Swanson, PhD, is a professor of Marketing at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, United States. His research interests include sports and hospitality/tourism marketing, service recovery issues, and pedagogy.

Xiaohong Chen

Xiaohong Chen, PhD, is a professor of Management in the Business School of Central South University; Collaborative Innovation Center of Resource-conserving & Environment-friendly Society and Ecological Civilization; Mobile E-business Collaborative Innovation Center of Hunan Province, Changsha, Hunan Province, China. Her research interest includes management science and engineering.