The role of environmental attitude on the relationship between perceived quality, perceived value, and satisfaction on festival visitors' behavioral intention: The case of Boryeong Mud Festival

Open Access
- Author:
- Choi, Youngjoon
- Graduate Program:
- Recreation, Park and Tourism Management
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- None
- Committee Members:
- Christine Buzinde, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Christine Buzinde, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor - Keywords:
- satisfaction
perceived value
quality
environmental attitude
nature-based festivals
behavioral intention - Abstract:
- Given that visitors to a nature-based festival are more likely to be exposed to the natural environment, it is important to combine consumer behavioral constructs with environmental attitudes. The purpose of this study was to extend festival research by examining the role of environmental attitude on individuals’ perception of and satisfaction with a nature-based festival. This study examined the role of environmental attitude in the Boryeong Mud Festival, which is the most popular nature-based festival in South Korea. A questionnaire was developed to measure four latent constructs (quality, perceived value, satisfaction, and behavioral intention) related to visitors’ evaluation of the festival and to investigate their environmental attitude by using the six-item NEP scale (Dunlap & Van Liere, 1978). In order to collect data, an on-site intercept survey was used with visitors who attended the 12th Boryeong Mud Festival from July 11th to 19th, 2009. Among 442 visitors who agreed to participate in the survey, 392 cases were used for the analyses. As a result, this study identified five quality dimensions of a nature-based festival: festival program, information service, festival product, convenient facilities, and natural environment. Also, festival visitors’ environmental attitude was documented with the six-item NEP scale and they were divided into a favorable environmental attitude group (FEAG) and a moderate environmental attitude group (MEAG). Using a multi-group mediation analysis, the impact of visitors’ environmental attitude on the interrelationships between quality, perceived value, satisfaction, and behavioral intention was examined. This study contributes to the tourism literature by providing empirical evidence that visitors differently perceive of the experience of a nature-based festival depending on their environmental attitude. From a marketing perspective, the results in this study can be beneficial to festival organizers in that they support any efforts taken by the industry to incorporate ecological messages within promotional efforts.