Emotional Solidarity and Co-creation of Experience as Determinants of Environmentally Responsible Behavior: A Stimulus-Organism-Response Theory Perspective

Abstract

Effective approaches to mitigate the adverse environmental impacts of tourism development have become one of the most prevalent topics in tourism. However, limited research analyzes the role of social interactions in tourists’ environmentally responsible behavior. This study is one of the first to investigate two distinct antecedents representing visitors’ interactions with service providers and residents to explain tourists’ behavior. Drawing on the Stimulus-Organism-Response theory, a mixed-methods sequential explanatory research design was employed by collecting quantitative data through a survey and following up with qualitative data from in-depth interviews. Based on a survey of 441 respondents, the study confirmed the positive effects of co-creation experiences between tourists and service providers, as well as emotional solidarity between visitors and residents, on tourists’ environmentally responsible behavior at destinations. An analysis of 10 in-depth interviews reveals new important factors contributing to tourists’ environmentally responsible behavior and its outcomes.