Doing good at a nonprofit tourist attraction

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the growing field of membership research by applying a relationship marketing perspective on members in tourism settings. Focus is on exploring why consumers are members (motivational dimensions) and how motivations are related to member behaviours (retention, participation and co-creation), and to member demographics (gender, age, distance between the member's home and the supported organization). Design/methodology/approach – A survey was conducted among members of a nonprofit tourist attraction (n=755). Classical chi-square tests, t-tests and multivariate analysis using logistic regression were used to analyze data and to test eight hypotheses on member demographics, member motivations and member behaviours. Findings – Findings show that among the three motivational dimensions, altruism, i.e. doing good for others, was the strongest motive, followed by self-interest, i.e. doing good for yourself, and then the social motive, i.e. doing good with others, which scored lowest. Furthermore, findings show that gender, age and distance were significantly related to member motivations and member behaviours. Member behaviours were significantly related to motivations. Research limitations/implications – This study was conducted at a single nonprofit tourist attraction. However, it provides insights into different motivational dimensions for why people pay to become members and what kind of member behaviour they demonstrate. This topic calls for further research to explore the complex membership phenomenon such as extending this study by identifying member motives and behaviour in other contexts. Practical implications – This explorative study of members of a nonprofit tourist attraction contributes insights into why consumers are members (motivational dimensions), how motivations are related to member behaviours in a membership relationship context, and how member demographics are related to motivations and behaviours. Findings have implications for membership managers and the development of memberships in terms of giving a deeper insight into members as consumers in order to develop memberships as strategic resources and hence use the full potential of memberships especially vital to non-profit organizations. Several aspects of memberships are discussed that may inspire the development of member offerings. The present study contributes to the developing field of membership research as it is a response to the calls for more empirical studies of members to develop an integrated understanding of motivations of memberships. Furthermore it contributes with research of co-creation in customer relationships linking the co-creation concept to research of members in tourism settings. Originality/value – This study contributes to the developing field of membership research and furthermore gives insights into consumer motivations and behaviours that may inspire development of innovative and competitive membership offerings building membership relationships in tourism settings.