Authenticity, psychological ownership and tourist commitment in heritage tourism: the moderating effect of cultural intelligence

Psychological ownership (PO) can facilitate the formation of ties between individuals and tangible and intangible assets; however, little scholars have investigated its impact on cultural tourism. In addition, among the four human motivations that can drive PO, the effect of stimulus need satisfaction has received relatively little attention. To address these research gaps, this study conducted an on-site survey in Zhaoxing Dong Village, collecting 302 valid responses through convenience sampling. The findings reveal that authenticity has a significant positive effect on both PO and tourist commitment, while PO also positively relates to tourist commitment. In addition, the results demonstrate that only cognitive and behavioural cultural intelligence (CQ) moderates the relationship between authenticity and PO. This study therefore extends the application of PO and CQ in cultural heritage tourism contexts and confirms that stimulus need satisfaction drives PO. Moreover, it offers insights for the management of cultural tourism.

Automated summary

Psychological ownership is found to have a positive impact on cultural tourism, with authenticity being an important factor influencing psychological ownership and tourist commitment. Cognitive and behavioral cultural intelligence moderates the relationship between authenticity and psychological ownership. Stimulus need satisfaction is identified as one of the motivations driving psychological ownership.