Lee, T. H., & Shen, Y. L.
APA
Lee, T. H., & Shen, Y. L. (2013). The influence of leisure involvement and place attachment on destination loyalty: Evidence from recreationists walking their dogs in urban parks. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 33, 76–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2012.11.002
Keywords
Destination Loyalty
,
Leisure Involvement
,
Park
,
Place Attachment
,
Walking A Dog
Abstract
This study examines a behavioral model using latent variables of leisure involvement, place attachment, and destination loyalty among recreationists walking their dog in urban parks. A total of 928 usable questionnaires were collected. The confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were analyzed using LISREL 8.70 for Windows. Empirical results indicate that leisure involvement (i.e., attraction and self expression) and place attachment (i.e., place identity and place dependence) accurately predict the destination loyalty of recreationists walking their dogs in urban parks. Findings of this study demonstrate that the proposed behavioral model is a highly effective means of examining the causal relationships among leisure involvement, place attachment, and destination loyalty. A series of managerial implications and recommendations for further studies are drawn.
Main finding
This article attempts to construct a theoretical model to describe the relationship between (a) a sense of attachment (i.e., place attachment) and (b) behavioral or destination loyalty to urban parks among dog walkers, among others. Analysis of responses to survey items leads the authors to conclude that leisure involvement supports place attachment which subsequently predicts attitudinal loyalty and finaly destination loyalty among this population of park users. As such, place attachment supports can function as an important precedent to destination loyalty.
Description of method used in the article
Surveys administered in 15 “dog-friendly” parks in Taiwan in 2009 and 2010. Participants were people in the parks who reported having walked their dog in one of the parks. The sample size is unclear, as different values are reported in different parts of the paper (N = 928, 138, and 526). The survey consisted of five sections, mostly on 7-point Likert scales: (a) leisure involvement, (b) place attachment, (c) attitudinal loyalty, (d) behavioral loyalty, and (e) demographics. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to explore relationships among variables.
Verdict
Of some practical use if combined with other research