Exploring tourists’ ecocentric and anthropocentric attitudes towards green hotels: theory of planned behaviour and norm activation theory perspective

Abstract

This study examined the role of personal norms, ascribed responsibility, eco-friendly reputation, and perceived moral obligation in tourists’ ecocentric and anthropocentric attitudes and behavioural intentions. This study also investigated whether tourists’ ecocentric and anthropocentric attitudes play mediating roles. The researchers distributed 800 questionnaires to international tourists in Malaysia; of those, 393 usable responses were included for further analysis. We applied partial least squares-structural equation modelling to test the theory and path analysis. The findings reveal that personal norms, ascribed responsibility, and eco-friendly reputations have significant relationships with ecocentric attitudes. Additionally, ascribed responsibility has a positive relationship with anthropocentric attitudes. The results also indicate the mediating role of ecocentric attitudes in the relationships of personal norms, ascribed responsibility, and eco-friendly reputation with intention. The findings reaffirm norm activation theory and the theory of planned behaviour.