Abstract
ABSTRACT This study examines the underlying mechanism of cognitive dissonance in medical tourism and its impact on tourist behaviors, which is yet under-explored in the extant literature. Study 1 reveals how cognitive dissonance arises in medical tourism and presents key relationships among constructs. Study 2 empirically analyzes the data gathered online from 647 Chinese respondents. Findings show that the health conditions of tourists impact their medical tourism combination choice under the significant mediating impact of perceived medical treatment risk. Medical tourism combination choice impacts post-choice pre-outcome (PCPO) regret. Additionally, PCPO regret negatively impacts tourist visit intention. To fill the lacuna, this study employed the theory of cognitive dissonance to examine medical tourist behavior as a reflection of tourist health conditions, PCPO regret, and medical tourism combination choice, which remained mixed and fragmented in previous studies. Medical tourism strategies aimed at reducing tourist cognitive dissonance at the pre-purchase stage may fuel tourist cognitive comfort during the medical tourism decision-making process, potentially exerting a favorable impact on tourist visit intention.
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