From ownership to responsibility: extending the theory of planned behavior to predict tourist environmentally responsible behavioral intentions

Abstract

This research adopts the view that tourists can feel destinations belong to them emotionally (destination psychological ownership). An ownership route for promoting tourist environmentally responsible behavioral intentions (TERBI) is examined based on the theory of planned behavior, with perceived environmental responsibility and place attachment as mediators. Data were collected from two samples in Hangzhou: Gen Z (n = 549) and older generations (n = 547). The results showed that destination psychological ownership is not directly related to TERBI; perceived environmental responsibility and place attachment mediate the relationship between destination psychological ownership and TERBI. Place attachment is the most critical mediating variable. The levels of TERBI are significantly lower among Gen Z tourists; however, the effect of subjective norms on TERBI is stronger for Gen Z than for other generations. This research provides theoretical and managerial implications to understand better the role of destination psychological ownership in facilitating TERBI.

Keywords:

• Tourist environmentally responsible behavioral intentions (TERBI)
• theory of planned behavior (TPB)
• destination psychological ownership
• perceived environmental responsibility
• place attachment
• Generation Z

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research is supported by the Youth Foundation of Humanities and Social Science Project of the Ministry of Education in China (Grant Number: 19YJC630131), and Youth Key Project of Premier Humanities and Social Science Program for Higher Educational Institutes of Zhejiang Province (Grant Number:2018QN015).

Notes on contributors

Hongliang Qiu

Hongliang Qiu, PhD, is an Associate Professor and Vice Dean of the School of Business Administration, Tourism College of Zhejiang, China. He was selected as “Zhejiang Young Tourism Expert”, a tourism top talent cultivation project in 2019. His article not only won top 4 cited articles of Tourism Tribune (2014-2022), but ranked first for excellent papers of 2014 China Tourism Academy Summit Dissertation Award. According to CNKI statistical results, he is also the scholar with the most single citations and total citations in the field of tourist environmentally responsible behavior and tourist civility.

Xiongzhi Wang

Xiongzhi Wang is a PhD candidate at School of Communication and Arts, the University of Queensland, Australia. He is interested in environmental psychology, sustainable tourism, and environmental communication research.

Alastair M. Morrison

Alastair M. Morrison, PhD, is a Research Professor in the Department of Marketing, Events and Tourism, Business School at the University of Greenwich in London, UK. He has published approximately 300 academic articles and conference proceedings, as well as over 50 research monographs related to marketing and tourism. His research interests include tourism destination management, marketing and branding, sustainable tourism, tourism cities, sharing economy and crisis management.

Catherine Kelly

Catherine Kelly, PhD, is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Marketing, Events and Tourism, Business School at the University of Greenwich in London, UK. She has more than 17 years' experience as an academic and consultant in the cultural, heritage and tourism sector. She has worked in the UK, Ireland and United States and held various roles in academia from management, course development, to research, consultancy and lecturing.

Wei Wei

Wei Wei, PhD, is an Associate Professor at the Rosen College of Hospitality Management, University of Central Florida, U.S.A. She received her Ph.D. degree and Master's degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management from Purdue University, U.S.A. Her research interests include consumer behavior, psychology, and experience in hospitality and tourism.