The influence of terrorism risk perception on purchase involvement and safety concern of international travellers

Abstract

Using a sample of 600 international tourists travelling in Portugal, Spain and Italy, this study identifies key issues related with terrorism, risk perception, involvement and safety concerns of international tourists. A structural equation model reveals that tourists are motivated to acquire information about terrorism in the media, revealing attention to and interest in news regarding this topic, which in turn influences directly their risk perception. This risk perception influences directly the tourist’s involvement in trip planning, specifically information seeking before and during the trip. Tourists’ risk perception and involvement finally influences their safety concern. Discussion centres on the implications of this model for both theory and tourism management strategies. Last, recommendations are proposed to tourism service and destination managers and promoters regarding ways to deal with terrorism and tourists’ safety concerns.     

The effect of attribute originality on consumers’ adoption intention of customization: The role of construal level

As consumers' preferences become increasingly diversified, many companies strive to satisfy individual needs by offering customization options for products or services. To enhance the effectiveness of customization strategies, managers need to decide what type of attributes to provide for consumers to customize and also take consumers' individual differences into consideration. The current research investigates the joint impacts of the originality of the attributes involved in a customization option and consumers' construal level on their intention to adopt customization. Findings from two experiments consistently demonstrate that, in comparison to customization options that include common customizable attributes, offering customization options that includes original customizable attributes undermine consumers’ adoption intention. However, such negative effects will be mitigated when consumers have a high construal level.     

The Impact of Stress on Consumers' Willingness to Pay

Stress is a companion in most consumers’ lives and as such should impact purchase behavior in many ways. Drawing on construal‐level theory, which relates to information processing on different levels of abstraction, the authors propose that consumers’ stress deteriorates their evaluation of products. The latter effect results from a stress‐induced focus shift, from product characteristics with high levels of construal to those with low levels of construal (Study 1). This shift also decreases the price that consumers are willing to pay (Study 2), though the product category moderates the impact of stress on willingness to pay (WTP), such that the decline in consumers’ WTP is smaller for products characterized by lower levels of construal (Study 3). This research extends existing knowledge on the impact of relaxation on consumers’ WTP by including stress in the analysis. Effect sizes are similar to those in related studies. In terms of managerial implications, this study recommends decreasing consumers’ stress levels at the point of purchase and tailoring marketing mix activities to match prevalent stress levels, if firms hope to mitigate the negative effect of stress.     

Finding the crucial factors for sustainable development of rural-based tourist destinations: using Nanzhuang, Taiwan as a case study

This paper aims to reveal the factors which are crucial for the sustainable development of rural-based tourist destination. This paper is possibly one of the few studies which apply rough sets theory (RST) analysis in destination image identification. Using Nanzhuang as a case study, this paper shows that RST analysis can identify the defining image attributes or attractors of a destination. RST analysis confirms the attractors that “pull” tourists to Nanzhuang are rural-tourism-related. RST decision rules reveal how an attribute single-handedly or a handful of attributes influence overall satisfaction. It also provides useful ideas on sustainable development of the destination.     

Travelling for Umrah: destination attributes,destination image,and post-travel intentions

This paper examines the links between cosmopolitanism, self-identity, and a desire for social interaction on perceived destination image and behavioural intentions. A model was tested using a sample of 538 Iranian visitors to Mecca for the purpose of Umrah. The result from the structural model suggests that destination attributes influence perceived destination image. Further, such tourists are likely to revisit or recommend Islamic destinations if their experience matches their perceived image of the destination. This implies that, while the religious characteristics of the destination remain important, destination managers cannot disregard the tangential, non-religious attributes of a destination which are crucial in order to satisfy more conventional tourist desires. As such, this study suggests that those managing religious travel destinations should endeavour to foster a welcoming image, where experience, interaction, and tolerance are at the forefront of the destination’s offering.     

Visitors’ pro-environmental behavior and the underlying motivations for natural environment: Merging dual concern theory and attachment theory

As nature-based tourism has recognized the seriousness of environmental issues, tourists’ pro-environmental behaviors have gained the attention of scholars and practitioners. However, previous empirical studies have not considered motivational factors and destination-related constructs within the tourism context. With the data collected from nature-based tourists, the findings of this study reveal the significant association between personal values and motivations and the significant impact of anticipated positive affect on pro-environmental behavior among nature-based tourists. Also, the findings address that the impact of empathetic concern on pro-environmental behavior is moderated by a level of place attachment to a nature-based destination.     

Determinants of Visitors’ Intentions to Consume and Recommend Local Agro-Food Products

Previous research has revealed the relevance of consuming local food products in the visitor experience and in maintaining the sustainable development of tourism destinations. By reviewing the available studies in the field of tourism, attempts have been made to identify those factors influencing the consumption of local food products during a trip. However, few studies have analysed visitors’ behaviour in terms of their intentions to search for and recommend these products after returning to their home countries. The present study addresses this gap by analysing the factors that influence visitors’ intentions. A total of 500 international tourists in Portugal were interviewed and several linear regression models were used. The evaluation shows that the attributes of local agro-food products, food-related personality traits, and the motivations behind consuming these kinds of products emerge as the most important factors that influence visitors’ intentions to consume these products and to recommend them after a trip. However, the results also show differences in the determinants in terms of type of local agro-food product under analysis, as well as differences between the intention to consume and the intention to recommend. The theoretical and managerial implications of the findings are also presented.     

The Recent versus The Out-Dated: An Experimental Examination of the Time-Variant Effects of Online Consumer Reviews

Conventional wisdom suggests that the most recent online reviews may have a greater impact than out-dated online reviews on consumers’ purchase decisions because of their up-to-date nature. However, building on the theory of temporal distance and construal fit, this study proposes a new perspective, suggesting that the influence of online reviews posted at different times is a function of the timeframe for the consumers’ intended purchase. Four experiments demonstrate that although recent online reviews are more influential in shifting consumer preferences towards near-future consumption decisions, the relative influence of out-dated online reviews in shifting consumer preferences increases when consumers are making distant-future consumption decisions. This effect occurs because of a construal fit between the construal level of the online reviews posted at different times and that of the timeframe of consumers’ purchase decisions. The recent reviews are represented at a relatively lower construal level, with the low-level construal matching the timeframe of the near-future consumption decision. Out-dated reviews, however, are represented at a relatively higher construal level and match the timeframe of the distant-future consumption decision. This construal fit, in turn, enhances consumer engagement and consequently exerts a greater influence on consumer preferences.     

Local residents’ perception about tourism and foreign residents: A Spanish case study

It is important to learn about local residents’ perceptions in relation to tourism and the presence of tourists who eventually become foreign residents, since tourism development is bound to have consequences of an economic, sociocultural, and environmental nature. This paper has collected quantitative as well as qualitative information to analyze those effects in the case of a tourism destination located on Costa Blanca (Spain). The impact of tourism development is additionally associated with local residents’ satisfaction with their municipality. According to the conclusion reached, a connection exists between that satisfaction amongst local residents and the availability of new business opportunities, the development, and maintenance of good relationships between local residents, foreign residents and tourists, and the international atmosphere that arises as a result.     

Measuring the part worth of the mode of transport in a trip package: An extended Bradley–Terry model for paired-comparison conjoint data

This study measures the travelers' perceived change in utility by accepting one of the modes of transport air, rail, or bus as one component of a packaged city trip. The part-worth values for the trip product elements are expected to depend on a number of traveler characteristics. The predictors hypothesized are city travel experience, general modal preference, socio-economic status, and car ownership. In the survey, the combinations of trip attributes differed between the two subgroups of leisure and business travelers. The leisure travelers rated three levels of mode, length of stay, and price, but only one level of the hotel category. The business travelers were shown four mode alternatives and only two levels for each of the other trip product elements. The conjoint measurements were elaborated by fitting an Extended Bradley–Terry Model. Demonstrating the application of the EBTM is the main purpose of the paper. The EBTM offers several advantages over the more popular versions of conjoint analysis. It correctly treats ties and allows for simultaneous estimation of the trip package (‘object’) parameters, object covariates (trip attributes), subject covariates (traveler characteristics) and their interactions. For both the business and the leisure travelers, the mode of transport dominated the assessment of a city trip package. For leisure tourists, e.g., switching from train 2nd class to an economy flight boosted the trip package more than twice as much as replacing train for bus. A variation of the package price was much more important for the leisure than for the business travelers. The socio-economic status proved to be an important factor and was particularly influential among the business travelers. In the leisure tourists' sub-sample age was not only important for valuing the mode of transport, but had a preferential impact for all trip components. Finally, the limitations of this demonstration study that discourage extrapolation to city travelers in general are emphasized.     

Contrasting the Drivers of Switching Intent and Switching Behavior in Contractual Service Settings

We examine consumer switching decisions in contractual service settings and contrast the drivers of actual switching with those of switching intent. We surveyed a panel of subscribers to all cell phone service providers in a market and recorded key marketing mix data. At four months intervals, we asked panel members about their switching intentions and then subsequently observed actual switching behavior. Consistent with construal level theory, our findings show that switching intent is explained by only a handful of desirability- or outcome-related variables (i.e., overall satisfaction, performance perceptions of important attributes, and monetary switching costs). In contrast, the results show that many more variable categories contributed to explain actual switching behavior. These findings confirm that switching intent is driven by a qualitatively different set of variables than switching behavior. Implications for theory, research and practice are discussed.     

Attributes Versus Benefits: The Role of Construal Levels and Appeal Type on the Persuasiveness of Marketing Messages

When should marketers emphasize attributes or benefits in their communications? Grounded in construal-level theory, the results of four studies suggest that when a purchase is planned for the distant future or when construal levels are high, benefit-based appeals are more persuasive than attribute-based appeals. By contrast, when a purchase is planned for the near future or when consumers are predisposed to low construal levels, attribute-based appeals are equally as persuasive as benefit-based appeals. However, when low construal levels are temporarily induced using a mind-set manipulation, attribute-based appeals are found to be more persuasive than benefit-based appeals. Moreover, we demonstrate how these effects occur only when processing fluency is uninhibited. This research establishes an important link between these appeal types and construal levels, subsequently demonstrating when marketers should use these appeals.     

Shaping consumer preference using alignable attributes: The roles of regulatory orientation and construal level

The structural alignment literature suggests that people place more weight on alignable (vs. nonalignable) attributes when evaluating competing options. The present research proposes that consumers' regulatory orientation moderates this process. Specifically, consumers differentially weight alignable versus nonalignable attributes depending on whether they are prevention or promotion-oriented. Results of four studies indicate that prevention-oriented consumers who tend to construe information at a more concrete level rely more on alignable attributes when evaluating two options as compared to promotion-oriented consumers who tend to construe information at a more abstract level, and are influenced more by nonalignable attributes. The authors further show that consumers' construal level and differential ease of processing the two types of attributes mediate the influence of regulatory orientations on their relative weighting of alignable versus nonalignable attributes and product evaluations.     

When consumers struggle: Action crisis and its effects on problematic goal pursuit

When pursuing goals, consumers often face setbacks that force them to reevaluate their goals. Yet, current goal theory offers limited explanations for how people respond to recurring challenges and disengage from their goals. Through five experiments investigating three primary theoretical aims, this research extends the field's understanding of action crisis, a possible goal pursuit stage marked by internal conflict over whether or not to continue, and investigates it in consumption contexts such as patient–physician relationships, weight loss diets, and environmentally friendly purchasing. Experiments 1A–1C show that consumer action crisis encourages more disengagement‐related and less continuation‐supportive cost–benefit thinking than nonproblematic action phase. Experiment 2 replicates this cognitive shift, and connects action crisis to diminished goal‐related evaluations and weakened commitment. Experiment 3 further clarifies action crisis’ influence on consumer goal pursuit by revealing decreased cognitive and behavioral engagement that does not involve a shift in construal level when compared to action phase consumers. Extending understanding of action crisis as a possible mindset and action phase, these five experiments advance goal disengagement theory by connecting changes in cognition, motivation, and behavior to action crisis.     

Does live performance play a critical role in building destination brand equity — A mixed-method study of “Impression Dahongpao"

A tourism live performance is a critical carrier of localism. It condenses local symbols and creates a significant approach to building a destination brand. However, to date, few studies have investigated this significant topic. To address the unresolved problem of the function and mechanism of the effect of a live performance on destination brand equity, this study employed a quantitative-dominant, concurrent nested mixed-method approach using 507 questionnaires (Study 1) and 14 semistructured interviews (Study 2). Based on symbolic interaction theory, the results confirmed that tourism live performance enhanced the destination brand equity, and the key link is for tourists to achieve a flow experience. Further, creative performance, visual appeal, cultural contact and authenticity created tourists' flow experience. The original findings of this study provide potential contributions to the development of destination brand equity.     

Holiday Destination Image and Personality of a Greek Island During an Economic Recession Period and the Intermediate Effect of the Utilitarian and Non-Utilitarian Needs

The research aim of this article is to investigate the relationship among tourists' utilitarian needs, non-utilitarian needs, destination image, and personality of Mykonos Island. The research objectives of this article are twofold: (i) to investigate Mykonos tourists' utilitarian and non-utilitarian needs; and (ii) to examine the degree to which the destination image and personality of Mykonos affect visitors' behavior and to determine whether this influence can be strengthened. Data are collected on the basis of a structured questionnaire. The research results show that destination image and personality have a direct and positive effect on each other and on tourists' utilitarian and non-utilitarian needs. There is no study until now that investigates the notions of utilitarian and non-utilitarian needs of tourists, in terms of destination image and personality of a holiday destination, during the current economic crisis.     

Examining tourist citizenship behaviors through affective,cognitive, behavioral engagement and reputation: Symmetrical and asymmetrical approaches

Although various studies have addressed customer citizenship behaviors and customer brand engagement, the effect of tourists’ pandemic-related destination brand reputation (DBR) on destination-brand-engagement (DBE) and tourist citizenship behaviors (TCB) remains nebulous. Based on signaling theory, social exchange theory, and complexity theory, we develop and test a theoretical model that explores the effect of tourist-perceived DBR on their affective, cognitive, and behavioral engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic. To explore these issues, this article adopts a mixed-method research approach, including symmetrical-based structural equation modeling (SEM) followed by asymmetrical-based fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). First, the SEM findings reveal the positive effect of DBR on affective, cognitive, and behavioral brand engagement. Second, the SEM findings uncover the affective, cognitive, and behavioral brand engagement’s positive impact on TCB. Third, the fsQCA findings identify three heterogeneous variable combinations/configurations that facilitate TCB. This study offers important theoretical and practical implications for destination marketers in pandemic times.     

文化旅游真实性感知对旅游者忠诚的影响机制研究——基于旅游者幸福感的中介效应

以往研究在文化旅游真实性感知对旅游者忠诚的影响问题上,得出了不同的结论,在存在主义真实性对旅游者忠诚的影响上存在较大分歧,内在机制尚不清晰。文章以幸福感的两个维度——享乐幸福感和实现幸福感为中介,研究文化旅游真实性感知的两种类型——客体相关真实性和存在主义真实性对旅游者忠诚的影响机制。研究结果表明,客体相关真实性对旅游者忠诚的影响被享乐幸福感和实现幸福感部分中介;存在主义真实性对旅游者忠诚的影响被享乐幸福感和实现幸福感完全中介。文章以幸福感为中介,丰富了文化旅游真实性感知对旅游者忠诚的影响机制研究,同时从享乐幸福感和实现幸福感入手,扩展了旅游者幸福感研究方向,为旅游目的地忠诚研究提供了新的视角。