Do you own Mazu’s glorious sunlight? The mediating role of psychological ownership between authentic experiences and behavioural intentions

Searching for authentic experiences and perceiving ownership of God's favour are critical motivations for pilgrims. However, the link between authentic experiences, psychological ownership, and pilgrims’ behavioural intentions is not fully explored, and how psychological ownership mediates the effect of authentic experiences on intentions remains unclear. This study develops a theoretical model of the relationships among existential authentic experience, object-based authentic experience, psychological ownership, and the behavioural intentions of pilgrims in the Dajia Mazu Pilgrimage, Taiwan. The analytical findings reveal that both types of authentic experiences significantly enhance psychological ownership, which positively affects behavioural intentions. However, while object-based authentic experience directly influences behavioural intention, existential authentic experience impacts behavioural intention only indirectly through psychological ownership, emphasising the crucial mediating role of psychological ownership. The practical implications suggest strategies to enhance authentic experiences and utilise virtual reality technology to strengthen pilgrims’ connection and sense of ownership. These insights provide valuable guidance for pilgrimage organisers to improve pilgrims’ engagement, fostering increased revisit intentions and positive word-of-mouth. This research is original in its thorough investigation of psychological ownership’s mediating effects and its integration of both existential and object-based authentic experiences, offering a deeper understanding of creating more meaningful and engaging pilgrimage experiences.