Abstract
Attempts to address undesirable behaviors that trigger backpacker-community conflict have overlooked the nexus between perceived skills development and behavioral enactments. This paper argues that the resolution of the backpacker-community conflict would require greater attention to a win-win exchange process based on sustainable development. It employs both Acquisition-Transaction Utility Theory and Social Exchange Theory to examine the relationship between backpacker perceived skill development during travel and their (un)sustainable behaviors to separate mutually beneficial behaviors from self-centered behavioral outcomes. A novel approach to backpacking literature is applied to investigate the (un)sustainable behaviors that drive the backpackers’ perceived skills development. We also uniquely assess the influence of gender and nationality behavioral differences on perceived skills acquisition given the recognized heterogeneity of backpackers. Based on a survey of 400 backpackers in a developing country, the rigorous quantitative analysis showed evidence of a principal-agent problem (i.e. community-backpacker problem) that could be resolved through backpackers advancing sustainable community-centered behaviors. Consequently, this study extends social science theories by formulating a model that addresses a sustainable collective gain of the backpacking exchange.
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