Can tour leader likability enhance tourist value co-creation behaviors? The role of attachment

Tourist value co-creation behaviors play an essential role in the creation of a memorable tourism experience. However, few studies conducted in the field of tourism have explored the antecedent variables that affect tourist value co-creation behaviors. This study investigated the relationship between tour leader likability and tourist value co-creation behaviors and examined the mediating effect of tour leader attachment on this relationship. The research sample comprised 274 tourists who participated in group package tours. The results revealed that tour leader likability positively affected tour leader attachment and tourist participation behaviors, and tour leader attachment positively affected tourist participation and citizenship behaviors. In addition, tour leader attachment mediated the relationship between tour leader likability and tourist value co-creation behaviors. This research contributes to the customer co-creation literature by considering tour leader likability and attachment as antecedent variables and quantifying their influences on tourist value co-creation behaviors. Furthermore, this study considers attachment to be a critical psychological mechanism to explain why tour leader likability influences tourist value co-creation behaviors. The findings of this study can serve as a reference for travel agency managers when they conduct human resource and customer relationship management practices.