Engaging tourists through destination social responsibility: the moderating role of self-congruence
Consumer Behavior in Tourism and Hospitality
ISSN: 2752-6666
Article publication date: 12 November 2024
Issue publication date: 20 November 2024
Abstract
Purpose
Engaging tourists with a destination brand can offer innumerable benefits. Based on stakeholder and social exchange theories, this study aims to comprehend destination social responsibility’s (DSR) role in inducing destination brand engagement (DBE) and favorable behavioral intentions, i.e. destination advocacy and revisit intentions. Further, the study examines self-congruence as a boundary condition to DSR’s impact on DBE.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected through an online survey of individuals in India and analyzed using structural equation modeling.
Findings
Findings highlight the importance of stakeholder and social exchange theories for socially responsible destinations by establishing a link between DSR and DBE, which adds to scholarship and holds practical relevance. Results confirm the moderating effects of self-congruence.
Research limitations/implications
The study did not assume the variation of tourists based on their characteristics and types while examining the moderation effects.
Originality/value
Research adds value by establishing the importance of DSR in engaging tourists with a destination. Furthermore, the study demonstrates how engaged tourists can showcase favorable responses toward the destination.
Keywords
Citation
Kumar, V., Kaushal, V. and Sharma, M. (2024), "Engaging tourists through destination social responsibility: the moderating role of self-congruence", Consumer Behavior in Tourism and Hospitality, Vol. 19 No. 4, pp. 656-669. https://doi.org/10.1108/CBTH-03-2024-0080
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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