How tour guides shape value co-creation for sustainability in guided tourism
A contagion perspective on climate and trait cynicism
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21603839 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jing Wang (0000-0002-7594-8539, University of Science and Technology of China), Yi-Xiang Wang (0000-0001-5697-0717, University of Science and Technology of China), Shanyong Wang (0000-0002-0017-1745, University of Science and Technology of China, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-26 |
| Publication date | 2026-06-25 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Sustainable Tourism (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0966-9582 • E-ISSN: 1747-7646 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/09669582.2026.2692581 |
| OpenAlex | W7165893340 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 42 |
Drawing on social contagion theory, this study conceptualizes value co-creation in group tours as a situational and episodic contagion process, operating in socially intensive yet temporally bounded contexts with limited normative stabilization. Across four complementary studies, including a field experiment and three scenario-based experiments, results show that tour guides’ value co-creation behaviors significantly enhance tourists’ value co-creation behavioral intentions. This effect is mediated by tourists’ perceptions of a value co-creation climate, defined as a transient, interaction-based construct reflecting rapidly formed shared perceptions within a specific tour experience rather than a stable organizational climate. The perceived climate significantly strengthens tourists’ participation behavioral intentions but does not significantly affect their citizenship behavioral intentions. In addition, trait cynicism negatively moderates the effects of tour guides’ value co-creation behaviors on both perceived climate and tourists’ value co-creation behavioral intentions. By demonstrating how contagion operates differently in short-term, experience-based tourism contexts, this study refines social contagion theory in guided tourism. Importantly, the findings suggest that tour guides function as critical leverage points for stimulating tourists’ value co-creation behavioral intentions and perceptions of a value co-creation climate, offering actionable implications for guide training and destination management aimed at fostering sustainable tourism outcomes
Cynicism · Emotional contagion · Normative · Perception · Situational ethics · Tourism · Trait · Digital Marketing and Social Media · Diverse Aspects of Tourism Research · Service and Product Innovation
Organizational Climate and Culture
Customer value co-creation behavior
Coping and co-creating in tourist experiences
Bridging service dominant logic and the concept of customer value through higher order indexes
Improving Ethics
The Impact of Tour Guides’ Professional Competencies on Tourist Behavioral Intention
The effect of host–guest interaction in tourist co-creation in public services
Resident-tourist value co-creation
Scale development for the practices involved in creating value propositions in the exhibition industry
Does seeing deviant other-tourist behavior matter? The moderating role of travel companions
Guiding the path to sustainable tourism development
Digital nudging for sustainable tourist behavior in new media
Nudge pro-environmental contagion
Value co-creation and customer citizenship behavior
Work and leisure
Cynical beliefs about human nature and income
Cynical people desire power but rarely acquire it
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |