Title:
Emotions, Satisfaction, and Place Attachment: A Structural Model
Authors & affiliations:
Girish Prayag*
Department of Management, Marketing & Entrepreneurship
University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
Email: girish.prayag@canterbury.ac.nz
Robert Van Der Veen
Department of Marketing
Oxford Brookes University, UK
Email:Robert.vanderveen@brookes.ac.uk
Sam Huang
School of Management
University of South Australia
Email: sam.huang@unisa.edu.au
Sameer Hosany
School of Management
Royal Holloway, University of London, UK
Email: Sameer.Hosany@rhul.ac.uk
*corresponding author
Abstract: The study evaluates a theoretical model based on the developmental theory of place
attachment. The model suggests that positive and negative emotions impact both place satisfaction and
place attachment. In turn, place satisfaction and place attachment determine behavioural intentions. This
theoretical model was tested on a sample of 517 international visitors to Thailand. The results generally
support the proposed relationships but surprisingly negative emotions had a positive relationship with
place attachment. Implications for destination marketing are suggested.
Introduction
Based on the developmental theory of place attachment (Morgan, 2010), a
theoretical model incorporating tourist emotions and satisfaction as antecedents of place
attachment and their effects on behavioural intentions is evaluated. There is little
consensus on the relationship between place satisfaction and attachment. Place
satisfaction has been treated as either an antecedent (Chen & Phou, 2013; Lee, Kyle &
Scott, 2012; Su, Cheng & Huang, 2011; Zenker & Rutter, 2014) or outcome of place
attachment (Hwang, Lee & Chen, 2005; Prayag & Ryan, 2012; Ramkissoon, Smith &
Weiler, 2013; Veasna, Wu & Huang, 2013; Yuksel, Yuksel & Billim, 2010). A
significant omission in the tourism, leisure and recreation literatures has been the role
and influence of emotions on place attachment. While several studies (Cheng & Kuo,
2015; Grisaffe & Nguyen, 2011; Orth, Limon & Rose, 2010; Park, MacInnis, Priester,
Eisingerich & Iacobucci, 2010) allude to the emotional nature of attachment to places
and brands, the emotions that drive attachment have not been investigated. Concepts
related to place attachment such as brand attachment, for example, have been
conceptualized using mainly emotional concepts (Thomson, MacInnis, & Park, 2005)
and/or mostly positive emotions (Park et al., 2010). However, it is well accepted in the
environmental psychology literature that attachment or bonds are not always positive
(Manzo, 2005). Unhappy experiences in a place can lead to negative feelings or even
aversion toward it (Scannell & Gifford, 2010). The main objective of the study is to
empirically validate a model that establishes relationships between the four concepts of
emotions (positive and negative), satisfaction, place attachment and behavioural
intentions.
Theoretical Foundation / Review of the Literature
Place Attachment
Place attachment is defined as “an affective bond to a particular geographical
area and the meaning attributed to that bond” Morgan (2010, p.12), based on the
developmental theory of place attachment. Many place theorists have used terms such as
sense of place (Stedman, 2003) and place bonding (Hammitt, Backlund & Bixler, 2006)
to describe attachment to physical environments. Cheng and Kuo (2015), for example,
define the term place bonding as a “positive emotion that individuals associate with a
certain place” (p.546). Many studies recognise two sub-dimensions of place attachment,
namely place identity and place dependence. Place identity refers to the symbolic
importance of a place as a repository for emotions and relationships that give meanings
and purposes to life (Williams & Vaske, 2003). Place dependence has been defined as
“how well a setting serves goal achievement given an existing range of alternatives”
(Jorgensen & Stedman, 2001, p.234).
Emotions and Attachment
Emotions evoked while visiting a tourist destination can create attachment to a
place due to the effect of an ‘emotional memory’ associated with people, places and
situations. The ‘emotional memory’ captures and stores a range of positive and negative
emotions (Grisaffe & Nguyen, 2011). Strong attachments are associated with strong
feelings of connection, affection, love and passion (Mugge, Schifferstein, &
Schoormans, 2010). Place brands in particular can generate affect based on positive
emotions such as happiness, pride and love (Scannell & Gifford, 2010). Accordingly:
H1: A positive relationship exists between positive emotions and place
attachment
Being connected to a place may give some people a positive sense of belonging,
but for others, it may feel oppressive and restrictive thereby creating negative feelings
for the place (Relph, 1976). Hence, if tourists felt mostly negative emotions at a
destination, they should feel negative attachment, ie, a weak emotional connection to the
destination and feeling less dependent on the place. Hence,
H2: A negative relationship exists between negative emotions and attachment
Many studies in both the marketing (Bagozzi, Gopinath, & Nyer, 1999;
Westbrook & Oliver, 1991) and tourism (Bigné, Andreu & Gnoth, 2005; Grappi &
Montanari, 2011; Yuksel & Yuksel, 2007) literature confirm a positive relationship
between positive emotions and satisfaction. Hence,
H3: A positive relationship exists between positive emotions and satisfaction
Mixed evidence exists on the relationship between negative emotions and
satisfaction. Previous studies have either found a significant influence of negative
emotions on customer satisfaction (Westbrook, 1987) or no effect (Westbrook & Oliver,
1991; Van Dolen, De Ruyter & Lemmink, 2004). In the tourism literature, some studies
have shown that negative emotions have a negative relationship with satisfaction (del
Bosque & San Martin, 2008; Faullant, Matzler & Mooradian, 2011; Grappi &
Montanari, 2011; Lee, Lee, Lee & Babin, 2008). Hence,
H4: A negative relationship exists between negative emotions and satisfaction
Morgan’s (2010) developmental theory of place attachment suggests that emotional
reactions to the physical environment shape behaviour. Su, Cheng and Huang (2011)
found that satisfaction of visitors to hot springs was positively related to both place
identity and dependence. Lee et al. (2012) found a positive effect of festival satisfaction
on both place identity and place dependence. However, in a destination context, Chen
and Phou (2013) failed to confirm an empirical link between overall satisfaction and
place attachment. Hence,
H5: A positive relationship exists between place satisfaction and place
attachment
Yuksel et al. (2010) showed that both place identity and place dependence can
predict destination loyalty, albeit the structural path between place dependence and
affective loyalty not supported by their results. For tourists visiting Singapore, Tsai
(2012) empirically found that both place identity and place dependence predicted revisit
frequency. Prayag and Ryan (2012) showed that place attachment predicted both revisit
and recommendation intentions for international visitors to Mauritius. Hence, the study
proposes that:
H6: A positive relationship exists between place attachment and behavioural
intentions
Satisfied visitors are more likely to revisit and recommend the destination to
others (Bigné, Sanchez & Sanchez, 2001; Chen & Tsai, 2007). Dissatisfied consumers
are unlikely to repurchase and often engage in negative word-of-mouth (Soscia, 2007).
Hence, the study postulates:
H7: A positive relationship exists between satisfaction and behavioural intentions
Research Methodology
A team of five trained research assistants administered the questionnaire face-toface with international tourists at the departure hall of the Suvarnabhumi International
Airport in Bangkok, Thailand. The interviewers were located at the entrance of the
departure hall and approached potential respondents on a convenient basis. Positive
emotions were operationalised using 6 items adapted from Hosany and Gilbert’s (2010)
destination emotion scale (DES). Three items (disappointment, displeasure and
unhappiness), adapted from Hosany and Prayag’s (2013) study, capture the negative
emotional experiences ([1]=not at all and [7]=very much). Place attachment was
operationalized using eight items adapted from Williams and Vaske’s (2003) scale
representing the two dimensions of place identity and place dependence ([1]=strongly
disagree and [7]=strongly agree). Satisfaction with the destination experience was
operationalised as a summative overall construct using two statements (adapted from
Faullant et al., 2011; Lee et al., 2008). Behavioural intentions were measured
(1]=strongly disagree and [7]=strongly agree) using 3 statements, adapted from
previous studies (e.g. González, Comesana, and Brea, 2007; Lee et al., 2008).
Research Findings
The fit indices for the measurement model are acceptable χ2 = 492.49, df = 195, p <
0.01, χ2/df = 2.53, CFI = 0.97, NFI= 0.95; RMSEA = 0.057. All factor loadings for the
positive measurement items are significant ranging from .644 for pleasure to .947 for
satisfaction, and the three items for negative emotions are above .7 and significant. Place
attachment is a second-order construct and the first-order constructs are place identity
and place dependence with significant factor loadings over .9. The construct reliability
values are all near .90 or higher, which suggests strong reliability (Bagozzi & Yi, 1988).
The average variance extracted reached the minimum threshold of 50% for all the
constructs, indicative of discriminant validity. The results for the structural model and
hypotheses are presented in Figure 1. The results for the structural model indicated an
acceptable fit (χ2 = 534.446, df = 197, p < 0.01, χ2/df= 2.713, CFI = 0.96, RMSEA =
0.061. Given that most of the path coefficients were significant and consistent with the
hypotheses, the results generally support the theoretical model.
Figure 1: Structural Model
Negative Emotions
Satisfaction
-.28***
.60***
Behavioural
Intentions
.48***
.41***
.21***
.10**
Positive Emotions
.59***
Place Attachment
Conclusions and Implications
The results support the notion that both positive and negative emotions are central to
tourists’ attachment to places. Extending Scannell and Gifford’s (2010) proposition that
emotions such happiness, pride and love contribute to place attachment, we empirically
demonstrate that positive emotions such as amazement, inspiration, caring, joy and
pleasure are also relevant to the formation of attachment. Also, emotional responses that
generate attachment for tourist destinations are not necessarily the same as those (e.g.,
Thomson et al., 2005) that generate brand attachment. However, the path coefficient
from positive emotions to place attachment being higher than that from positive
emotions to satisfaction, may suggest that place attachment is more important than
satisfaction for understanding tourists’ post-consumption evaluations of destinations.
Surprisingly, negative emotions were found to contribute to place attachment in a
positive way. Consumer behaviour research indicates that negative emotions can result
from events that are relevant to but incongruent with consumption goals (Lerner &
Keltner, 2000; Menon & Dube, 2007). Therefore, despite experiencing negative
emotions, tourists felt that these were not of a sufficient condition to not feel attached.
Both positive emotions and overall satisfaction with destination experience were found
to be significant predictors of place attachment. This seems to provide good evidence to
support the developmental theory of place attachment (Morgan, 2010).
This study offers managerial implications to industry practitioners. First of all, the
findings suggest that destination marketers and managers should be learn more to
understand tourist emotions given that such emotions (positive and negative) determine
tourist satisfaction and attachment. Tourism operators and managers should attend to
critical service encounters to generate positive emotional responses from visitors and by
monitoring overall experiences at the point of departure from the destination. This study
identified that place attachment is also a significant concept that should be valued in
destination marketing together with satisfaction. While satisfaction may be more
important in inducing short term repeat visits among the existing market, place
attachment may be playing a supplementing role in sustaining future visitations to a
destination from the long term. As place attachment is developmental in nature, it is
important that marketing strategies be implemented to foster and increase it over time.
Marketing and management measures like providing more frontline staff speaking
tourists’ home language and loyalty programs rewarding and increasing place
dependence can be intentionally designed and implemented to increase tourists’ place
attachment. As more tourist destinations such as Thailand face the challenge of
competing for repeat visitors, marketing and management measures designed around
sustaining place attachment beyond tourist satisfaction seem to be especially relevant for
such destinations’ sustainable development.
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