This study is designed to explore halal-friendly destination attributes in South Korea and identify the particular role of the attribute factors in forming destination image and behavioral intentions. In order to achieve this objective, a psychometric process was used. A qualitative approach (i.e., interview) was initially employed to identify possible halal-friendly attributes at a non-Muslim destination. Next, Churchill's (1979) procedures (exploratory factor analytic approach) and Gerbing and Anderson's (1988) guidelines (confirmatory factor analytic approach) were used. A structural equation model was proposed to test the impact of identified attributes on its subsequent outcomes. Additional asymmetrical methods were applied to investigate the combination of halal-friendly attributes and necessary conditions leading to the desired outcomes. The outcomes determined five major halal-friendly attributes which can be useful for destination marketers in South Korea to formulate a favorable destination image, elicit repeat visitation, and promote word-of-mouth behaviors.

This empirical study entailed proposing conceptual models for investigating customers' satisfaction, their intention to recommend, and their continued intention to purchase and consume halal products and services. Complexity theory was used to support the developed models. The study applied a symmetrical analysis to investigate the risk factors that are sufficient for affecting the desired outcomes. An asymmetrical approach was used to explore the causal configurations that lead to both high and low outcomes scores. A necessary condition analysis was performed to identify the risk conditions required to achieve the expected outcomes. The models were tested using data collected on the perceptions of patrons at international halal restaurants in Malaysia. According to the results, the heterogeneous interactions of risk conditions support complexity theory. Policy implications for the status of the tourism industry and the Muslim world are discussed at the end of the paper.

The purpose of this empirical study is to investigate the effect of general risk, a multidimensional factor, on halal customer trust, satisfaction and intention to recommend halal food. The study also calculates the mean comparison of trust, satisfaction and intention recommendation across the demographic variables of halal customers. Our results from the structural analysis revealed that general risk has significant and positive effects on trust, satisfaction, and intention to recommend halal food. In addition, the results of the mean difference test advised that satisfaction and intention to recommend halal food are significantly different between male and female customers and that trust significantly varies across halal customers with different educations and marital status backgrounds. This study added a valuable contribution to the current literature of halal food consumption by performing a set of symmetric analytical approaches to assess desired responses from halal food customers.

Purpose This study aims to propose guidelines for the joint use of partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to combine symmetric and asymmetric perspectives in model evaluation, in the hospitality and tourism field. Design/methodology/approach This study discusses PLS-SEM as a symmetric approach and fsQCA as an asymmetric approach to analyze structural and configurational models. It presents guidelines to conduct an fsQCA based on latent construct scores drawn from PLS-SEM, to assess how configurations of exogenous constructs produce a specific outcome in an endogenous construct. Findings This research highlights the advantages of combining PLS-SEM and fsQCA to analyze the causal effects of antecedents (i.e., exogenous constructs) on outcomes (i.e., endogenous constructs). The construct scores extracted from the PLS-SEM analysis of a nomological network of constructs provide accurate input for performing fsQCA to identify the sufficient configurations required to predict the outcome(s). Complementing the assessment of the model’s explanatory and predictive power, the fsQCA generates more fine-grained insights into variable relationships, thereby offering the means to reach better managerial conclusions. Originality/value The application of PLS-SEM and fsQCA as separate prediction-oriented methods has increased notably in recent years. However, in the absence of clear guidelines, studies applied the methods inconsistently, giving researchers little direction on how to best apply PLS-SEM and fsQCA in tandem. To address this concern, this study provides guidelines for the joint use of PLS-SEM and fsQCA.

This empirical study developed and tested configural models for predicting residents’ support for tourism development (RSTD). The main contributions of this study are to propose a new analytical method for modeling the complex interactions of RSTD indicators, advancing the necessary theory to support both the ordinary and heterogonous relationships of RSTD and its antecedents, providing managerial guidelines for both promoting RSTD and controlling the negation of RSTD, and modeling RSTD in Hawraman, Iran, a location in which little information is available about host communities. We administered a survey to collect the views of 202 residents with varying demographic characteristics. To ascertain the occurrences of contrarian cases, cross-tabulation tests were performed, and their results helped to identify the functionality of fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) and complexity theory for asymmetrical modeling of RSTD. The predictive validity of causal recipes was also checked. The results from the fsQCA revealed that conditions with a higher level of community attachment, community involvement, knowledge of tourism, power to influence tourism, perceived personal benefit, positive tourism impacts, and satisfaction with quality of life led to a higher RSTD score. The results also indicated that trust in government and tourism negative impacts both positively and negatively, depending on the attributes of other antecedents in the causal recipe, function as determinants of RSTD. This study presents deeper insights into the tourism literature by exploring conditions that indicate high/low RSTD scores, which are useable for modeling other complex tourism issues.