Authors: GERARD KYLE¹; ALAN GRAEFE²; ROBERT MANNING³; JAMES BACON³

Source: Leisure Sciences, Volume 26, Number 1, Jan-Mar 2004 , pp. 99-118(20)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

Abstract:

In recent years, conceptual and empirical papers have begun to appear in the leisure literature examining the processes leading to the formation of recreationist loyalty. While this work is still in its infancy, current understanding suggests that leisure involvement plays a formative role in the development of social psychological commitment, which in turn, is an antecedent to loyalty to a brand or organization. In the context of natural resource-based recreation the concept of loyalty is most often used to refer to recreationists' attachments to specific recreation areas. The purpose of this paper is to provide an empirical examination of the first order structural relations among involvement (i.e., Centrality, Attraction, Self Expression), commitment (i.e., Social Investment, Financial Investment, Position Involvement, Informational Complexity, Volitional Choice), resistance to change (i.e., Activity Resistance, Place Resistance) and behavioral loyalty for hikers along the Appalachian Trail. These data provided partial support of our hypothesized model. The strength of the structural models varied and not all predictors were significant. Also, the valence of the dimensional relations varied. These data highlight several measurement related issues relating to each of the constructs modeled. These measurement issues inhibit progress toward a fuller understanding of the relationships between each of the constructs and their dimensions.

Keywords: loyalty; place attachment; commitment; leisure involvement; hiking

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01490400490272675

Affiliations: 1: Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, USA 2: The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA 3: University of Vermont, Bington, Vermont, USA

Publication date: 2004-01-01

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