Predicting Private and Public Pro-Environmental Behaviors in Rural Tourism Contexts Using SEM and fsQCA: The Role of Destination Image and Relationship Quality

Abstract

The importance of pro-environmental behavior in tourism has been established, but explaining its sub-dimensions, especially in the private and public dimensions, is under-researched. Existing literature on tourism research mainly uses SEM to analyze tourist pro-environmental behavior, while fsQCA is scarcely implemented. In this study, SEM is applied to reveal the links among destination image, relationship quality, and pro-environmental behavior, while fsQCA is utilized to investigate configurations predicting pro-environmental behavior. Responses of 285 tourists were collected and analyzed to test the proposed hypotheses. The SEM results showed that (1) destination image directly and positively affected relationship quality (including satisfaction and destination trust); (2) relationship quality was found to positively and directly influence private and public pro-environmental behaviors; (3) relationship quality did mediate the influence of destination image on private pro-environmental behavior partially, while it played a full mediating role in the effect of destination image on public pro-environmental behavior. The findings from fsQCA indicated that (1) three sufficient configurations consistently lead to a high level of private pro-environmental behavior: (a) high destination image and satisfaction, (b) high destination image and trust, (c) high relationship quality; (2) there was only one sufficient causal configuration for a high level of public pro-environmental behavior: high relationship quality. The results provide tenable evidence that relationship quality can be a vital factor enhancing the sub-dimensions of pro-environmental behavior. The integration of these two methods helps to open the black box of tourist pro-environmental behavior in rural tourism contexts in a more systematic and holistic way.

Linking Perceived Environmental CSR to Residents’ Environmental Citizenship Behavior in Rural Tourism: The Mediating Role of Resident–Environment Relationship Quality

“…Relational constructs included in the conceptual framework of the present research were verified to play substantial mediating roles. Despite the evidence in marketing research and tourism research [ 55 , 59 , 60 ], limited studies have applied environmental identification and environmental commitment to measure relationship quality and predict environmental citizenship behavior [ 9 , 27 ]. By taking both environmental identification and environmental commitment into account, our research demonstrated how residents’ identification with the destination, and commitment to environment conservation, promote residents to adopt citizenship behavior for maintaining environmental sustainability in rural destinations.…”

“…As relationship quality theory proposes, building relationships is centered on identifying and addressing the needs of people [ 54 ]. From this point of view, one of the effective strategies for encouraging people’s positive behavior is to improve relationship quality [ 55 , 56 ]. In tourism, a healthy environment provides residents with benefits in diverse ways, such as increasing their satisfaction toward life and improving their physical and mental well-being [ 57 , 58 ].…”

“…Existing literature in marketing has validated that relationship quality plays an essential role in understanding various types of behavior or behavioral intentions, such as purchase intention and behavior [ 59 , 60 ]. In tourism research, relationship quality has also been regarded as an important antecedent of sustainable environmental behavior [ 55 ]. Relationship quality is considered as a high-order construct involving multiple dimensions [ 61 ].…”

“…However, this method is only applicable to symmetrical causal relationships. Recent research has involved the application of fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) for asymmetrical relationships among variables [ 55 ]. Other interesting approaches should also be considered for future research, such as experimental methods [ 93 , 94 ] and a hybrid method, such as self-administrated questionnaires and semi-structural interviews [ 95 , 96 ].…”

Extending the Theory of Planned Behavior with the Self-Congruity Theory to Predict Tourists’ Pro-Environmental Behavioral Intentions: A Two-Case Study of Heritage Tourism

“…In addition to providing the destinations with financial advantages, the increase in tourist arrivals and activities also raises environmental concerns [8,9]. Tourists are key stakeholders of destinations [10,11]. Their undesirable behaviors negatively affect sustainable development [12], such as littering, graffiti, and overcrowding [10,13,14].…”