The Effect of Mortality Salience on Volunteer Tourism
Cross‐Cultural Comparison
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 17722018 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kyung-Yur Lee (0000-0002-3494-5569, Tourism Research Institute, Hanyang University Seoul Republic of Korea), Kyung‐Yur Lee (Hanyang University), Ji Youn Jeong (0000-0003-2460-2420, School of Tourism Hanyang University Seoul Republic of Korea, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Tourism Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1099-2340 • E-ISSN: 1522-1970 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/jtr.70280 |
| OpenAlex | W7143510950 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 52 |
This study examines volunteer tourism intention (VTI) by integrating terror management theory (TMT) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB) in the post‐COVID‐19 context. Survey data from the United States ( n = 402) and South Korea ( n = 326) were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results showed that mortality salience (MS) increased VTI indirectly through self‐esteem (SE) and cultural worldview (CW), which shaped attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. Multigroup analysis revealed cross‐national differences: SE played a stronger role in the United States, whereas CW was more influential in South Korea. These findings suggest that existential concerns can motivate prosocial tourism behavior, while cultural context shapes the psychological mechanisms underlying such responses. The study advances tourism research by integrating TMT with TPB to explain volunteer tourism decision‐making
Mortality salience · Prosocial behavior · Structural equation modeling · Terror management theory · Theory of planned behavior · Tourism · Volunteer · Diverse Aspects of Tourism Research · Nonprofit Sector and Volunteering · Tourism, Volunteerism, and Development
The Scrooge Effect
Terror Management Theory of Self-Esteem and Cultural Worldviews
A Terror Management Theory of Social Behavior
A systematic literature review of the theory of planned behavior in tourism, leisure and hospitality management research
A Time to Tan
The theory of planned behavior
Modelling generation Z tourists' social responsibility toward environmentally responsible behaviour
Navigating Wellbeing
Volunteer tourism (VT) traveler behavior
An analysis of student bucket lists in death and dying courses
Why Do People Need Self-Esteem? A Theoretical and Empirical Review
The Multidimensional Mortality Awareness Measure and Model
Cultural Values and Volunteering
Process of forming tourists’ pro-social tourism behavior intentions that affect willingness to pay for safety tourism during the Covid-19 pandemic
Volunteerism During Young Adulthood
Building and testing theories of decision making by travellers
Ageing, volunteering and tourism
Finding oneself while discovering others
Enjoying life in the face of death
The effects of health beliefs upon nature-based tourism during Covid-19
Terror Management Theory and the Covid-19 Pandemic
Cultural influences on terror management
What would you have as a last supper? Thoughts about death influence evaluation and consumption of food products
Unintended effects of measuring implicit processes
A moderated mediation model of tourist cultural worldviews, perceived social relations, self-esteem, and prosocial behaviors - analyzing competing models
A meta-analysis of tourists’ destination visits and theory of planned behavior
Terror management and religion
Two Decades of Terror Management Theory
The Effect of Volunteer Management on Intention to Continue Volunteering
Back-Translation for Cross-Cultural Research
I Own, So I Help Out
The Sweet Escape
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |