A moderator of destination social responsibility for tourists’ pro-environmental behaviors in the VIP model

Abstract

Tourists are important destination stakeholders who mainly impact sustainable nature-based tourism destinations. While destinations promote socially responsible programs to protect the environment, tourists' engagement in pro-environmental behaviors is different. This research examined a conceptual framework to investigate tourists' pro-environmental behaviors at an ecological destination through the lens of the Values–Identity–Personal norms (VIP) model and the concept of destination social responsibility (DSR) from economic, environmental, and social perspectives. Examination of the VIP model, with a sample of 433 visitors to a nature-based destination, revealed that tourists' biospheric values, environmental self-identity, and personal norms had significant progressive relationships in influencing pro-environmental behaviors. Furthermore, a latent moderated structural equation analysis revealed that the DSR, particularly the environmental dimension, had a negative moderating effect between personal norms and pro-environmental behaviors. This finding implies that the effect of personal norms on pro-environmental behavior decreases when environmental DSR increases. This result highlights a significant role of destination environmental responsibility in impacting tourists' pro-environmental behaviors. The integrated model enhanced the predictability of pro-environmental behaviors, extending a methodological approach that improved the ability to analyze moderation effects. The findings offer managerial strategies for developing effective DSR messages to promote tourists’ pro-environmental activities. • An integrated framework enhanced the predictability of pro-environmental behaviors. • Values–Identity–Personal norms model parsimoniously explained tourists' pro-environmental decision-making process. • Destination social responsibility (DSR) significantly moderated the impact of personal norms on behaviors. • Latent moderated structural equations improved the ability to analyze moderation effects. • DMOs benefit from promoting DSR as a collective approach, concerning the perspective of tourists as key stakeholders.