Predicting Community Satisfaction among Rural Residents: an Integrative Model*

Abstract

Community satisfaction has often been linked to the level of satisfaction with a community's infrastructure, job opportunities and social support networks. Yet, most empirical analyses of community satisfaction have focused on only one aspect of the available theory to predict community satisfaction. In this paper, we integrate multiple models to analyze community satisfaction of almost 4,000 rural Nebraskans. The integrated model indicates that social ties may have a greater role in predicting community satisfaction than had been previously thought.

Residents’ Satisfaction With Community Attributes and Support for Tourism

“…Sirgy and Cornwell (2001) note that "global community satisfaction is predicted not only by satisfaction with business, government and nonprofit services, but also by satisfaction with other life domains" (p. 129). Thus, recent studies have adopted a multidimensional approach incorporating satisfaction with physical amenities, public service provisions, social support network, community conditions, community commitment, confidence in local institutions, power in influencing local institutions, neighborhood conditions, and major life domains to investigate overall community satisfaction (Filkins et al, 2000;Goudy, 1990;Grzeskowiak et al, 2003;Kasarda & Janowitz, 1974;Sirgy & Cornwell, 2001;Sirgy et al, 2000). The present study continues along the same line of research and incorporates satisfaction with neighborhood conditions, community commitment, and satisfaction with community services in an integrative model and analyzes their influence on the residents' perceived impacts of tourism.…”

“…Still others (e.g., McCool & Martin, 1994) found a high correlation between community commitment and perceptions of positive and negative impacts of tourism. Based on the preceding discussion, the following hypotheses are formulated: Previous models of community satisfaction have also included residents' satisfaction with community services (Allen et al, 1991;Filkins et al, 2000;Ko & Stewart, 2002), which is considered to be highly influential in influencing overall satisfaction with one's community (Sirgy et al, 2000). Satisfaction with community services includes residents' evaluation of the various government services (e.g., police, fire, library), business services (e.g., banking, insurance, departmental stores, supermarkets), and nonprofit services (e.g., alcohol, drug abuse services, crisis intervention, religious services; Grzeskowiak et al, 2003;Filkins et al, 2000).…”

“…Based on the preceding discussion, the following hypotheses are formulated: Previous models of community satisfaction have also included residents' satisfaction with community services (Allen et al, 1991;Filkins et al, 2000;Ko & Stewart, 2002), which is considered to be highly influential in influencing overall satisfaction with one's community (Sirgy et al, 2000). Satisfaction with community services includes residents' evaluation of the various government services (e.g., police, fire, library), business services (e.g., banking, insurance, departmental stores, supermarkets), and nonprofit services (e.g., alcohol, drug abuse services, crisis intervention, religious services; Grzeskowiak et al, 2003;Filkins et al, 2000). Researchers note a high multicollinearity among the three services construct (government, business, and nonprofit services) and argue that it is possible to combine these three dimensions into a single construct (Sirgy et al, 2000).…”

Changing Communities, Community Satisfaction, and Quality of Life: A View of Multiple Perceived Indicators

“…However, Goudy (1977) suggests that social dimensions are more important than economic factors in determining community satisfaction. Similarly, Filkins et al (2000) stress the importance of a community's social dimensions and satisfaction with social/spiritual factors.…”

“…Filkins et al (2000) predicts community satisfaction through the level of satisfaction with a community's infrastructure, job opportunities, and social support network. According to Sirgy et al (2008), community satisfaction is determined by satisfaction with government, businesses, and non-profit services in addition to satisfaction with physical, economic, and social living conditions.…”