Contingent effects of social norms on tourists’ pro-environmental behaviours: the role of Chinese traditionality

Abstract

Social norms are critical drivers of pro-environmental behaviours (PEBs) yet vary in their influences across individuals or cultures. This study investigates the contingent effects of social norms on tourists’ PEBs by examining the moderating role of an individual cultural value, i.e. Confucian-based Chinese traditionality, on the mediated relations via personal norm. Using survey data collected from Kulansu island and with structural equation modelling and bootstrap analyses, it revealed that both injunctive and descriptive norms did not exert a direct effect on tourists’ PEBs but an indirect one via personal norm, i.e. personal norm fully mediated the relationship between social norms and PEBs. It also confirmed that Chinese traditionality moderated the mediated relationship between injunctive, but not descriptive, norm and PEBs through personal norm, such that the mediation was stronger for tourists higher, rather than lower, in Chinese traditionality. This study contributes to the literature on the norm-behaviour relationship in a Confucian-based cultural context and offers practical insights into crafting normative appeals in environmental campaigns.

Keywords:

• Injunctive norm
• descriptive norm
• personal norm
• Chinese traditionality
• pro-environmental behaviours

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments, Xiangru Qin for her constant discussions and feedback, the research assistants for data collection work, and tourists who volunteer to participate in the study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 GRT (Fuzhou) Data Research Co., LTD. (2017). Kulangsu World Cultural Heritage Research Report, 26.

Additional information

Funding

This paper was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) [grant numbers: 41471122] and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People’s Republic of China [grant numbers: WMYC20171079].

Notes on contributors

Xiongzhi Wang

Xiongzhi Wang is a PhD candidate in the School of Communication and Arts, the University of Queensland. He gained his master’s degree in the School of Tourism Management, Sun Yat-sen University, China. His research interests include environmental psychology and sustainable tourism. Email: [email protected].

Chaozhi Zhang

Chaozhi Zhang, the corresponding author, is a professor of tourism at School of Tourism Management, at Sun Yat-sen University, China. His research interest is in heritage tourism, sustainable tourism, and destination development. Email: [email protected]. Address: Room 102, North-east Building 329, Xinggang Xi Road. 135, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.