IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/endesu/v22y2020i8d10.1007_s10668-019-00524-z.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sustainability of marine parks: Is knowledge–attitude–behaviour still relevant?

Author

Listed:
  • Siti Intan Nurdiana Wong Abdullah

    (Universiti Putra Malaysia
    INTI International University)

  • Zaiton Samdin

    (Universiti Putra Malaysia
    Universiti Putra Malaysia)

  • Jo Ann Ho

    (Universiti Putra Malaysia)

  • Siew Imm Ng

    (Universiti Putra Malaysia)

Abstract

Marine parks were established to protect the diverse marine ecosystem in Malaysia, and over the years, the islands have attracted an increasing number of tourists. These marine park islands have become not only one of the top ecotourism destinations in Malaysia but an important contributor to the socio-economic growth of the nation. Nonetheless, it is a constant challenge to maintain the marine parks’ natural charm due to negative tourism impacts. Humans’ consumption behaviour has been identified as a driver of climate change. Given that humans’ contribution to the problem is closely related to sustainable behaviour, this study focuses on tourists’ behaviour. With the growing awareness on global environmental challenges, environmental knowledge has often been prescribed as one of the main precursors of tourists’ behaviour, yet few studies have attempted to assess this factor from different dimensions. This paper examines tourists’ environmental knowledge from a multidimensional aspect of factual, conceptual and procedural dimensions to determine its role in influencing attitude and responsible environmental behaviour. A face-to-face survey was conducted among 85 domestic and international marine park tourists, and data were analysed using PLS-SEM method. This preliminary study revealed that environmental knowledge is formatively represented by factual, conceptual and procedural dimensions. Furthermore, results confirmed the linear relationships between knowledge, attitude and behaviour with knowledge as a strong predictor of attitude that leads to higher pro-environmental behaviours, hence highlighting the importance of promoting environmental knowledge among marine park tourists who drives pro-environmental attitude and responsible behaviour to achieve a sustainable ecotourism development.

Suggested Citation

  • Siti Intan Nurdiana Wong Abdullah & Zaiton Samdin & Jo Ann Ho & Siew Imm Ng, 2020. "Sustainability of marine parks: Is knowledge–attitude–behaviour still relevant?," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(8), pages 7357-7384, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:endesu:v:22:y:2020:i:8:d:10.1007_s10668-019-00524-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s10668-019-00524-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10668-019-00524-z
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10668-019-00524-z?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gadenne, David & Sharma, Bishnu & Kerr, Don & Smith, Tim, 2011. "The influence of consumers' environmental beliefs and attitudes on energy saving behaviours," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(12), pages 7684-7694.
    2. Chiu, Yen-Ting Helena & Lee, Wan-I. & Chen, Tsung-Hsiung, 2014. "Environmentally responsible behavior in ecotourism: Antecedents and implications," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 321-329.
    3. Banjo Roxas & Val Lindsay, 2012. "Social Desirability Bias in Survey Research on Sustainable Development in Small Firms: an Exploratory Analysis of Survey Mode Effect," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(4), pages 223-235, May.
    4. Yadav, Rambalak & Pathak, Govind S., 2017. "Determinants of Consumers' Green Purchase Behavior in a Developing Nation: Applying and Extending the Theory of Planned Behavior," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 114-122.
    5. Kim, Aise KyoungJin & Weiler, Betty, 2013. "Visitors' attitudes towards responsible fossil collecting behaviour: An environmental attitude-based segmentation approach," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 602-612.
    6. Nickerson, Norma Polovitz & Jorgenson, Jake & Boley, B. Bynum, 2016. "Are sustainable tourists a higher spending market?," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 170-177.
    7. Michal Carrington & Benjamin Neville & Gregory Whitwell, 2010. "Why Ethical Consumers Don’t Walk Their Talk: Towards a Framework for Understanding the Gap Between the Ethical Purchase Intentions and Actual Buying Behaviour of Ethically Minded Consumers," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 97(1), pages 139-158, November.
    8. Hultman, Magnus & Kazeminia, Azadeh & Ghasemi, Vahid, 2015. "Intention to visit and willingness to pay premium for ecotourism: The impact of attitude, materialism, and motivation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(9), pages 1854-1861.
    9. Xianbing Liu & Can Wang & Tomohiro Shishime & Tetsuro Fujitsuka, 2012. "Sustainable consumption: Green purchasing behaviours of urban residents in China," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(4), pages 293-308, July.
    10. Pablo Díaz-Siefer & Alexander Neaman & Eduardo Salgado & Juan L. Celis-Diez & Siegmar Otto, 2015. "Human-Environment System Knowledge: A Correlate of Pro-Environmental Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(11), pages 1-17, November.
    11. Juvan, Emil & Dolnicar, Sara, 2014. "The attitude–behaviour gap in sustainable tourism," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 76-95.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Xiaoming Liu & Mei Xu & Huiling Zhou, 2022. "Analyzing the Spatio-Temporal Distribution and Network Structure of Ecotourism Flow in Zhangjiajie," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-19, February.
    2. Neringa Vilkaite-Vaitone & Vilma Tamuliene, 2023. "Unveiling the Untapped Potential of Green Consumption in Tourism," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-16, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Adongo, Charles A. & Taale, Francis & Adam, Issahaku, 2018. "Tourists' values and empathic attitude toward sustainable development in tourism," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 251-263.
    2. Muhammad Yaseen Bhutto & Xiaohui Liu & Yasir Ali Soomro & Myriam Ertz & Yasser Baeshen, 2020. "Adoption of Energy-Efficient Home Appliances: Extending the Theory of Planned Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-25, December.
    3. Shehawy, Yasser Moustafa & Agag, Gomaa & Alamoudi, Hawazen O. & Alharthi, Majed D. & Brown, Abraham & Labben, Thouraya Gherissi & Abdelmoety, Ziad H., 2024. "Cross-national differences in consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) more for green hotels," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    4. Su-Lan Pan & Ju Chou & Alastair M. Morrison & Wen-Shiung Huang & Meng-Chen Lin, 2018. "Will the Future Be Greener? The Environmental Behavioral Intentions of University Tourism Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-17, February.
    5. Schill, Marie & Godefroit-Winkel, Delphine & Diallo, Mbaye Fall & Barbarossa, Camilla, 2019. "Consumers’ intentions to purchase smart home objects: Do environmental issues matter?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 176-185.
    6. Marie Schill & Delphine Godefroit-Winkel & Mbaye Fall Diallo & Camilla Barbarossa, 2019. "Consumers’ intentions to purchase smart home objects: Do environmental issues matter?," Post-Print hal-02091348, HAL.
    7. Radu Ciobanu & Claudia-Elena Țuclea & Luciana-Floriana Holostencu & Diana-Maria Vrânceanu, 2022. "Decision-Making Factors in the Purchase of Ecologic Products," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-26, August.
    8. Shiwei Shen & Marios Sotiriadis & Qing Zhou, 2020. "Could Smart Tourists Be Sustainable and Responsible as Well? The Contribution of Social Networking Sites to Improving Their Sustainable and Responsible Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-21, February.
    9. Cheung, Millissa F.Y. & To, W.M., 2019. "An extended model of value-attitude-behavior to explain Chinese consumers’ green purchase behavior," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 145-153.
    10. Nieves García-de-Frutos & José Manuel Ortega-Egea & Javier Martínez-del-Río, 2018. "Anti-consumption for Environmental Sustainability: Conceptualization, Review, and Multilevel Research Directions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 148(2), pages 411-435, March.
    11. Lukasz Andrzej Derdowski & Åsa Helen Grahn & Håvard Hansen & Heidi Skeiseid, 2020. "The New Ecological Paradigm, Pro-Environmental Behaviour, and the Moderating Effects of Locus of Control and Self-Construal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-15, September.
    12. Smirti Kutaula & Alvina Gillani & Diana Gregory-Smith & Boris Bartikowski, 2024. "Ethical Consumerism in Emerging Markets: Opportunities and Challenges," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 191(4), pages 651-673, May.
    13. Xiaocheng Vicky Zhang & Suk Ha Grace Chan, 2021. "Do Knowledge and Experience Value Affect Green Tourism Activity Participation and Buying Decision? A Case Study of Natural Dyeing Experience in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-18, July.
    14. Juan Ignacio Pulido-Fernández & Yaiza López-Sánchez, 2016. "Are Tourists Really Willing to Pay More for Sustainable Destinations?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(12), pages 1-20, November.
    15. Xin, Yongrong & Long, Dengjie, 2023. "Linking eco-label knowledge and sustainable consumption of renewable energy: A roadmap towards green revolution," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 207(C), pages 531-538.
    16. Carlos Jurado-Rivas & Marcelino Sánchez-Rivero, 2019. "Willingness to Pay for More Sustainable Tourism Destinations in World Heritage Cities: The Case of Caceres, Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-21, October.
    17. Iulia C. Muresan & Rezhen Harun & Felix H. Arion & Anca Monica Brata & Ioan Aurel Chereches & Gabriela O. Chiciudean & Diana E. Dumitras & Camelia F. Oroian & Olivia Paula Tirpe, 2021. "Consumers’ Attitude towards Sustainable Food Consumption during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Romania," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-15, October.
    18. Saeed Gholamrezai & Vahid Aliabadi & Pouria Ataei, 2021. "Understanding the pro-environmental behavior among green poultry farmers: Application of behavioral theories," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(11), pages 16100-16118, November.
    19. Mauricio Carvache-Franco & Conrado Carrascosa-López & Wilmer Carvache-Franco, 2022. "Market Segmentation by Motivations in Ecotourism: Application in the Posets-Maladeta Natural Park, Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-18, April.
    20. Szu‐Tung Lin & Han‐Jen Niu, 2018. "Green consumption: Environmental knowledge, environmental consciousness, social norms, and purchasing behavior," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(8), pages 1679-1688, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:endesu:v:22:y:2020:i:8:d:10.1007_s10668-019-00524-z. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.