IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/touman/v63y2017icp158-169.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

On linguistic relativity and pro-environmental attitudes in tourism

Author

Listed:
  • Kim, Soheon
  • Filimonau, Viachaslau

Abstract

Language is a key cultural and cognitive attribute which can shape the way people think and behave. Research in economics has tested the influence of language on human consumption and found that languages that explicitly mark future events, i.e. so-called future-time-reference or strong FTR languages, may engage their speakers in less future-oriented attitudes and actions. This phenomenon is known as linguistic relativity. By applying its principles to tourism, this study investigated the impact of language on pro-environmental attitudes of tourists. Comparative analysis of Korean (strong FTR language) and Mandarin (weak FTR language) speaking tourists revealed substantial differences in attitudes. Although tourists possessed good knowledge on the environmental impacts of tourism, this knowledge did not translate into high pro-environmental attitudes for Korean speakers while it did for Mandarin. This suggests that language can shape the attitudes of tourists towards environmental impacts. Implications for management, policy-making and future research are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Kim, Soheon & Filimonau, Viachaslau, 2017. "On linguistic relativity and pro-environmental attitudes in tourism," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 158-169.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:touman:v:63:y:2017:i:c:p:158-169
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tourman.2017.06.012
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0261517717301346
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.tourman.2017.06.012?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Victor Ginsburgh & Shlomo Weber, 2016. "The Palgrave Handbook of Economics and Language," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/277408, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    2. Kiatkawsin, Kiattipoom & Han, Heesup, 2017. "Young travelers' intention to behave pro-environmentally: Merging the value-belief-norm theory and the expectancy theory," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 76-88.
    3. Gadenne, David & Sharma, Bishnu & Kerr, Don & Smith, Tim, 2011. "The influence of consumers' environmental beliefs and attitudes on energy saving behaviours," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(12), pages 7684-7694.
    4. Chiu, Yen-Ting Helena & Lee, Wan-I. & Chen, Tsung-Hsiung, 2014. "Environmentally responsible behavior in ecotourism: Antecedents and implications," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 321-329.
    5. House, Robert & Javidan, Mansour & Hanges, Paul & Dorfman, Peter, 2002. "Understanding cultures and implicit leadership theories across the globe: an introduction to project GLOBE," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 3-10, April.
    6. Ajzen, Icek, 1991. "The theory of planned behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 179-211, December.
    7. Wang, Mei & Rieger, Marc Oliver & Hens, Thorsten, 2016. "How time preferences differ: Evidence from 53 countries," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 115-135.
    8. Liang, H. & Marquis, C. & Renneboog, L.D.R. & Li Sun, Sunny, 2014. "Speaking of Corporate Social Responsibility," Discussion Paper 2014-023, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    9. Hares, Andrew & Dickinson, Janet & Wilkes, Keith, 2010. "Climate change and the air travel decisions of UK tourists," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 466-473.
    10. Lord, Kenneth R. & Putrevu, Sanjay & Shi, Yi Zheng, 2008. "Cultural influences on cross-border vacationing," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(3), pages 183-190, March.
    11. Liang, H. & Marquis, C. & Renneboog, L.D.R. & Li Sun, Sunny, 2014. "Speaking of Corporate Social Responsibility," Other publications TiSEM 92732b13-3daf-45d1-99a1-1, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    12. Ballantyne, Roy & Packer, Jan & Falk, John, 2011. "Visitors’ learning for environmental sustainability: Testing short- and long-term impacts of wildlife tourism experiences using structural equation modelling," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 1243-1252.
    13. Packer, Jan & Ballantyne, Roy & Hughes, Karen, 2014. "Chinese and Australian tourists' attitudes to nature, animals and environmental issues: Implications for the design of nature-based tourism experiences," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 101-107.
    14. Imran, Sophia & Alam, Khorshed & Beaumont, Narelle, 2014. "Environmental orientations and environmental behaviour: Perceptions of protected area tourism stakeholders," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 290-299.
    15. Andrea Bigano & Jacqueline M. Hamilton & Richard S.J. Tol, 2005. "The Impact Of Climate Change On Domestic And International Tourism: A Simulation Study," Working Papers FNU-58, Research unit Sustainability and Global Change, Hamburg University, revised Jan 2005.
    16. M. Keith Chen, 2013. "The Effect of Language on Economic Behavior: Evidence from Savings Rates, Health Behaviors, and Retirement Assets," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 103(2), pages 690-731, April.
    17. Woodside, Arch G. & Hsu, Shih-Yun & Marshall, Roger, 2011. "General theory of cultures' consequences on international tourism behavior," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 64(8), pages 785-799, August.
    18. Liang, H. & Marquis, C. & Renneboog, L.D.R. & Li Sun, Sunny, 2014. "Speaking of Corporate Social Responsibility," Other publications TiSEM 1b8f9b47-56b4-42a0-87de-a, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Shehawy, Yasser Moustafa & Agag, Gomaa & Alamoudi, Hawazen O. & Alharthi, Majed D. & Brown, Abraham & Labben, Thouraya Gherissi & Abdelmoety, Ziad H., 2024. "Cross-national differences in consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) more for green hotels," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    2. Yin, Weijun & Chen, Cuixia & Liu, Bing, 2024. "Linguistic-induced life insurance consumption," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 1083-1101.
    3. Essl, Andrea & Suter, Manuel & von Bieberstein, Frauke, 2023. "The effect of future-time referencing on pro-environmental behavior," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 107(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Boggio, C. & Fornero, E. & Prast, H.M. & Sanders, J., 2015. "Seven Ways to Knit Your Portfolio : Is Investor Communication Neutral?," Other publications TiSEM 81e1098a-af2d-4107-a298-a, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    2. Francis Osei-Tutu & Laurent Weill, 2021. "How language shapes bank risk taking," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 59(1), pages 47-68, April.
    3. Cecilia Boggio & Elsa Fornero & Henriette Prast & Jose Sanders, 2014. "Seven Ways to Knit Your Portfolio: Is Investor Communication Neutral?," CeRP Working Papers 140, Center for Research on Pensions and Welfare Policies, Turin (Italy).
    4. Hooghiemstra, Reggy & Hermes, Niels & Oxelheim, Lars & Randøy, Trond, 2019. "Strangers on the board: The impact of board internationalization on earnings management of Nordic firms," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 119-134.
    5. Oasis Kodila‐Tedika & Sherif Khalifa, 2020. "Long‐term vision and economic development," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(11), pages 3088-3102, November.
    6. Diana M. Hechavarría & Siri A. Terjesen & Pekka Stenholm & Malin Brännback & Stefan Lång, 2018. "More than Words: Do Gendered Linguistic Structures Widen the Gender Gap in Entrepreneurial Activity?," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 42(5), pages 797-817, September.
    7. Kim, Jaehyeon & Kim, Yongtae & Zhou, Jian, 2017. "Languages and earnings management," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 288-306.
    8. Gordon, Elizabeth A. & Gotti, Giorgio & Ho, Joanna H. & Mora, Araceli & Morris, Richard D., 2019. "Commentary: Where is International Accounting Research Going? Issues Needing Further Investigation," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 37(C).
    9. Chen, Shimin & Cronqvist, Henrik & Ni, Serene & Zhang, Frank, 2017. "Languages and corporate savings behavior," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 320-341.
    10. Xueyan Dong & Jingyu Gao & Sunny Li Sun & Kangtao Ye, 2021. "Doing extreme by doing good," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 38(1), pages 291-315, March.
    11. Farzana Sharmin & Mohammad Tipu Sultan & Alina Badulescu & Dorin Paul Bac & Benqian Li, 2020. "Millennial Tourists’ Environmentally Sustainable Behavior Towards a Natural Protected Area: An Integrative Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-24, October.
    12. Alla Mostepaniuk & Elsie Nasr & Razan Ibrahim Awwad & Sameer Hamdan & Hasan Yousef Aljuhmani, 2022. "Managing a Relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability: A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-23, September.
    13. Ying Teng & Zhenzhong Ma & Lei Jing, 2021. "Explore the World Responsibly: The Antecedents of Ethical Tourism Behaviors in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-17, April.
    14. Meng-Tsung Lee & Jen-Ming Liu & Elaine Q. Borazon, 2020. "Evaluating the Effect of Perceived Value of Ecosystem Services on Tourists’ Behavioral Intentions for Aogu Coastal Wetland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-18, August.
    15. Hayati Ibrahim & Manohar Mariapan & Evelyn Lim Ai Lin & Sheena Bidin, 2021. "Wildlife Conservation through Economically Responsible Ecotourist: The Mediator Roles of Attitude between Anticipated Emotion and Intention to Stay in Local Homestays," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-16, August.
    16. Jia, Jing & Li, Zhongtian, 2020. "Does external uncertainty matter in corporate sustainability performance?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    17. Andrzej R. Stopczyński, 2020. "Banki na progu upadłości – refleksje nad postępowaniem," Bank i Kredyt, Narodowy Bank Polski, vol. 51(5), pages 517-548.
    18. Su, Lujun & Hsu, Maxwell K. & Boostrom, Robert E., 2020. "From recreation to responsibility: Increasing environmentally responsible behavior in tourism," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 557-573.
    19. Su-Lan Pan & Ju Chou & Alastair M. Morrison & Wen-Shiung Huang & Meng-Chen Lin, 2018. "Will the Future Be Greener? The Environmental Behavioral Intentions of University Tourism Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-17, February.
    20. Abdul Waheed & Qingyu Zhang, 2022. "Effect of CSR and Ethical Practices on Sustainable Competitive Performance: A Case of Emerging Markets from Stakeholder Theory Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 175(4), pages 837-855, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:touman:v:63:y:2017:i:c:p:158-169. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/tourism-management .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.