Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research

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Perceptual and Functional Antecedents of Local

Residents' Support-for-Tourism: Findings of a
Study in Hanoi, Vietnam

Bình Nghiêm-Phú

To cite this article: Bình Nghiêm-Phú (2016) Perceptual and Functional Antecedents of Local
Residents' Support-for-Tourism: Findings of a Study in Hanoi, Vietnam, Asia Pacific Journal of
Tourism Research, 21:4, 375-397, DOI: 10.1080/10941665.2015.1050423

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10941665.2015.1050423

Published online: 03 Jun 2015.

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 Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 2016
Vol. 21, No. 4, 375–397, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10941665.2015.1050423

Perceptual and Functional Antecedents of Local

Residents’ Support-for-Tourism: Findings of a Study
in Hanoi, Vietnam†
Downloaded by [Orta Dogu Teknik Universitesi] at 00:56 09 March 2016

Bình Nghiêm-Phú*
Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University, 5322 Endo, Fujisawa-shi,
Kanagawa, Japan

This study examined the effects that three perceptual constructs (country image, emotional
solidarity, and life satisfaction) and three functional variables (sex, education, and income)
have on local residents’ support-for-tourism attitude. Using the data generated from a case
study in Hanoi (Vietnam), the findings revealed that the perceptual model could explain
32% of the total variance of support-for-tourism, while the functional model only
contributed 3.6% to the explanation. Among the perceptual constructs, only country
image did not generate any significant influence on the dependent component. Among
the functional variables, education was the only significant predictor of the support
attitude. The outcomes advocate a psychological approach in tourism research and
management with the focus on the examination and control of tourism actors’ perceptions,
attitudes, and behaviors.

Key words: tourism support, perceptual factors, functional factors, local residents,
Vietnam

Introduction support-for-tourism (or tourism support),

In the context of tourism, local residents’
support is a significant foundation of tourism
development in general and destination
management in particular. Researchers have
discovered many perceptual factors that
may affect local residents’ attitude toward
including perceived tourism impacts, perceived
personal benefits, perceptions of tourists, and
place attachment, among others (e.g. Andereck
& Vogt, 2000; Gursoy, Jurowski, & Uysal,
2002; Gursoy & Rutherford, 2004;
King, Pizam, & Milman, 1993; Lee, 2013;
Milman & Pizam, 1988; Oviedo-Garcia,

†
The research was conducted at the Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University.
*Email: binhnghiem@keio.jp

© 2015 Asia Pacific Tourism Association

 376 Bình Nghiêm-Phú
Castellanos-Verdugo, & Martin-Ruiz, 2008;
Perdue, Long, & Allen, 1987, 1990; Perdue,
Long, & Kang, 1995; Sharpley, 2014;
Woosman, 2012). Tourism impacts, in par-
ticular, can either be positive or negative. Gen-
erally, the positive perceived impacts positively
affect tourism support, and vice versa (e.g.
Andereck & Vogt, 2000; Nunkoo & Gursoy,
2012; Perdue et al., 1987, 1990). “Member-
ship in a community organization” was also
found to have a positive influence, while that
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of “employment status” was negative (Sira-
kaya, Teye, & Sonmez, 2002). Noticeably,
the effects of these two functional factors had
smaller sizes compared to the two perceptual
components of “general perceptions of tour-
ists”, and “perceived economic costs of
tourism” in the same context (Sirakaya et al.,
2002). In two earlier studies, it was revealed
that employment status generated a negative
impact in one context (King et al., 1993) but
a postive impact in another (Milman &
Pizam, 1988). Nevertheless, in both cases, its
impacts were smaller than those of several per-
ceptual factors (e.g. perceived image, perceived
quality of life).
Compared to the other influential perceptual
predictors (e.g. perceived impacts, perceived
benefits), perceived place image/quality of life
(as indicators of tourism impact) and emotion-
al solidarity were only tested by a handful of
studies (e.g. King et al., 1993; Ko & Stewart,
2002; Milman & Pizam, 1988; Nunkoo &
Ramkissoon, 2011a, 2011b; Woosnam,
2012). In some cases, the relationships
between related variables or components
were investigated, instead of those between
the main constructs (e.g. King et al., 1993;
Milman & Pizam, 1988; Woosnam, 2012).
In others, the outcomes were even contradic-
tory (e.g. Ko & Stewart, 2002; Nunkoo &
Ramkissoon, 2011a). Therefore, the first
objective of this study is to examine the role
of three less popular perceptual factors (i.e.
perceived country image, emotional solidarity,
and life satisfaction) as the antecedents of local
residents’ support-for-tourism. In addition,
there is evidence that the impacts of perceptual
factors may be larger than those of functional
factors (e.g. King et al., 1993; Milman &
Pizam, 1988; Sirakaya et al., 2002). Thus, the
second objective of this study is to compare
the effects of the above-mentioned perceptual
factors with the effects of other functional
factors (i.e. sex, education, and income).
Tourism research has always dealt with
“what goes on inside the head” of the subjects
(Canter, 1982, p. 193), or psychological con-
cepts (e.g. tourists’ motivation and satisfaction,
residents’ attitude, staff’s behavior, and stake-
holders’ expectation, among others). Empirical
examinations have addressed a wide spectrum
of issues, from sensory (e.g. Pan & Ryan,
2009) to cognition and affect/emotion (e.g.
del Bosque & San Martin, 2008), and from
conscious (e.g. Stylidis, Belhassen, & Shani,
2014) to unconscious (e.g. Yang, He, & Gu,
2012). In addition, researchers and prac-
titioners in the industry have also been
working to understand the correlations
among the concepts (Pearce & Stringer,
1991), and to change the attitudes and beha-
viors of their targets toward a more positive
end (Uzzell, 1984). These are also considered
psychological processes. However, although
widely adopted, the application and contri-
bution of a psychological approach are
hardly explicitly stated in the existing tourism
literature. This study makes an exception
when distinguishing two sets of factors
(psychological and functional), and making a
focus on the psychological constructs. Specifi-
cally, the cognitive and affective aspects of
these constructs are measured on a conscious
basis. This study and its psychological
approach, therefore, will introduce some
 Perceptual and Functional Antecedents of Local Residents’ Support-for-Tourism
theoretical contributions to the existing litera-
ture. As a side result, the findings will generate
suggestions for the making of future policies
toward the management of tourism develop-
ment using the same psychological perspective.
The context of this study is Vietnam.
Located in the Southeast Asia region,
Vietnam is a developing country. However,
“unlike many other developing countries,
Vietnam is stable and safe” (Ashwill, 2005,
p. 5). Consequently, Vietnam has the potential
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to become a good place for both residency and
tourism. In 2010, there were approximately
320,000 foreigners registered to temporarily
stay in the country for a period of three
months or more (see in Nguyễn, 2010). In
November 2013, Vietnam greeted its 90 mil-
lionth citizen (WPS, 2013). The number of
international visitors to Vietnam has also
been increasing in recent years. In 2014, the
country had a new record of approximately
7.9 million international tourist arrivals
(VNAT, 2014). Vietnam focuses on sea
tourism, cultural tourism (culture, heritage,
festival, lifestyle, and culinary), and ecotourism
as the major tourism products. The country is
working toward the image of a friendly and
welcoming destination although there are
some issues of robbery, scams, and a two-
price system (low for locals and high for
foreigners).
Theoretical Model Development
Definition and Structure of Place Image,
Life Satisfaction, and Emotional Solidarity
Place image is an important element of the
management and marketing of a place. From
an active approach, marketers/managers of a
place create the images to communicate to
and attract tourists, residents, investors, and
377
laborers, among others. In this process, local
residents play a special role. They are parts of
the fabric which forms the image of a place,
or take part in the process of creating the
images as an active stakeholder. They are
also the perceivers of the images of the place.
However, only a small number of studies
have examined local residents’ perceptions
(e.g. Henkel, Henkel, Agrusa, Agrusa, &
Tanner, 2006; King et al., 1993; Kuzgun,
Goksel, Ozalp, Somer, & Alvarez, 2010;
Milman & Pizam, 1988; Ritchie, Sanders, &
Mules, 2007; Stylidis et al., 2014), while the
majority of them targeted tourists. As a per-
ceived image (or perception), place image is
considered as the knowledge and beliefs of
and the feelings toward a place that an individ-
ual may have (Stepchenkova & Mills, 2010).
Consequently, place image is structured by
two basic components, one cognition-based
and one affect-based. The cognitive com-
ponent includes the visible and invisible attri-
butes of a place, for example, tourist
attractions, climate, and service quality,
among others. Moreover, the affective com-
ponent reflects the feelings toward the place,
including both positive and negative ones
(e.g. interesting vs. boring).
Life satisfaction is defined as the “content-
ment or pleasure with life” (Cavener, 1996,
p. 5). It is an element, and sometimes is used
as an indicator, of a larger concept – quality
of life. However, previous studies have
mainly focused on the factors which may
affect life satisfaction on the one hand. On
the other, how life satisfaction can influence
other dependent variables is a question which
remains largely unanswered. Regarding its
structure, life satisfaction also consists of the
cognitive and the affective elements. Cognitive
life satisfaction is the satisfaction with particu-
lar aspects of one’s life, including relationships,
job, and financial situation, among others;
 378 Bình Nghiêm-Phú
whereas affective life satisfaction is the feelings
that an individual has toward his/her life.
Nonetheless, almost all of previous studies
only measured one of these two components
(Nghiêm-Phú, 2013).
Another perceptual construct investigated in
this study is emotional solidarity. Emotional
solidarity has its root in the work of Durkheim
(1995 [1915]). In his work, Durkheim argued
that emotional solidarity reflects the inter-
action between individuals, through which
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they share a belief system and engage in
similar behaviors. In the context of tourism,
the construct of emotional solidarity is a
recently developed one (see, e.g. Woosnam,
2008, 2012; Woosnam, Aleshinloye, Van
Winkle, & Qian, 2014). The practical
emotional solidarity construct has three com-
ponents, including “welcoming nature”,
“emotional closeness”, and “sympathetic
understanding”. The original 10 items of the
scale are mostly affect-based (e.g. I am proud
to have tourists come to my community).
However, as far as the search reveals, this con-
struct has mostly been applied in the commu-
nity settings in the USA.
Perceptual Model
Support-for-tourism is a positive attitude
toward the sector and its development in a
place. Two constructs examined in this study
– perceived image and emotional solidarity –
may be the direct predictors of support-
for-tourism attitude of local residents. For
example, Milman and Pizam (1988), and
King et al. (1993) figured out that the improve-
ment of community or town image as a conse-
quence of tourism development was one of the
factors that could generate a positive and sig-
nificant effect on local residents’ attitude.
However, no specific effect of image attributes
and/or components was examined in these
studies. In addition, Woosnam’s (2012) study
showed that two of the three factors of
emotional solidarity (i.e. “welcoming nature”
and “sympathetic understanding”) could posi-
tively and significantly predict local residents’
support-for-tourism. Moreover, Woosnam
(2012) also reported that “emotional close-
ness” and “sympathetic understanding”
could influence residents’ perception of tour-
ism’s contribution. Noticeably, support-for-
tourism and tourism’s contribution were two
factors underlying the tourism-impact scale.
In the current study, extending the findings of
previous research, it is hypothesized that local
residents’ support-for-tourism is affected by
their perception of their country as a tourism
destination (perceived country image) and the
solidarity in emotion with the international
tourists and foreigners (emotional solidarity).
Hypotheses 1 and 2 are constructed as follows.
H1: emotional solidarity can have an effect on local
residents’ support-for-tourism
H2: perceived country image can have an effect on
local residents’ support-for-tourism
Previous studies have also found that satisfac-
tion has an indirect effect on the attitude
toward tourism development of local residents
(Andereck & Nyaupane, 2011; Jurowski &
Brown, 2001; Nunkoo & Ramkissoon,
2011b). For example, Nunkoo and Ramkis-
soon (2011b) figured out that satisfaction
with community neighborhood and commu-
nity services significantly affected the perceived
impacts of tourism; the perceived impacts of
tourism, in their turn, significantly influenced
local residents’ support for additional tourism
development. Furthermore, a direct correlation
was found in Nunkoo and Ramkissoon
(2011a). Accordingly, community satisfaction
(including satisfaction with quality of life,
 Perceptual and Functional Antecedents of Local Residents’ Support-for-Tourism
overall and future conditions of the place, and
the desire to live in the place) had a direct and
significant influence on local residents’
support-for-tourism. In a more recent study,
it was found that affective life satisfaction gen-
erated a positively direct effect on local resi-
dents’ attitude toward tourism development
in their community (Woo, Kim, & Uysal,
2015).
Based on the empirical support of Nunkoo
& Ramkissoon (2011a, 2011b) and Woo
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et al. (2015), this study proposes that life satis-
faction is an antecedent of local residents’
support-for-tourism. However, while previous
studies only focused on the effect of one aspect
of satisfaction (i.e. either cognitive or affective;
Ko & Stewart, 2002; Nunkoo & Ramkissoon,
2011a; Woo et al., 2015), this study incorpor-
ates both components of life satisfaction in a
single test. The third hypothesis of this study
is as follows.
H3: life satisfaction can have an effect on local resi-
dents’ support-for-tourism
In a study with the residents in Brisbane City
(Queensland, Australia), Lloyd and Auld
(2002) found that the level of satisfaction
with the environmental quality did not
predict residents’ evaluations of quality of life
in a leisure context. However, Andereck and
Nyaupane (2011) assumed that there is a con-
nection between community characteristics
and life satisfaction. Furthermore, empirical
studies have proved that environmental
factors/conditions have direct effects on life
satisfaction from a variety of perspectives,
including social geography (Pacione, 2003),
urban planning (Marans, 2003), health care
(Whiteneck et al., 2004), education (Nonaka
et al., 2012), and economics (Rehdanz & Mad-
dison, 2008; Welsch, 2007). Among these
studies, Nonaka et al. (2012) applied both
379
physical and psychological measures to
examine school environment’s effect on stu-
dents’ life satisfaction whereas the remaining
focused more on the cognitive attributes of an
environment.
Although the perception of the living
environment is somewhat a reflection of the
perception of a place in general, there is lack
of evidence on how place image affects life sat-
isfaction in a larger context (e.g. a country). To
address this issue, it is proposed in this study
that local residents’ perception of their
country as a tourism destination significantly
affects their evaluation of life satisfaction.
H4: perceived country image can have an effect on
local residents’ life satisfaction
Pattyn (1996), based on Durkheim’s theory,
argued that the concept of emotional solidarity
has both the cognitive and affective aspects,
and is rooted in the motivating factors which
individuals are not always consciously aware
of. The term solidarity itself implies consensus
(Lowenstein, 2007). Emotional solidarity
reflects the cohesion in feelings or emotions
between the individuals in a community or a
group (Durkheim, 1995 [1915]). In other
words, emotional solidarity is the affective
harmony between individuals, which leads to
the affective harmony of the group.
Furthermore, Mead (1918, p. 580) argued
that “the consciousness of self through con-
sciousness of others” is responsible for the
“sense of hostility” of the insiders toward the
outside members who oppose the group, and
hence provides “the most favorable condition”
for the construction of “sense of group solidar-
ity”. In addition, Pattyn (1996, p. 103)
observed that Durkheim’s theory offers an
explanation for a point which states that
“people tend to feel spontaneously in solidarity
with those who ‘agree’ with them”. Emotional
 380 Bình Nghiêm-Phú
solidarity, through the collective activities
between individuals, can lead to social
inclusion (Wilson, 2006). In the family
context, emotional solidarity can be con-
sidered as an “investment” in emotion (Leik,
1963, p. 132), which may result in good
returns. Thus, if emotional solidarity is a moti-
vational construct, then an individual with this
motivation is seeking external/extrinsic
rewards (i.e. affective harmony with other
people), and hence emotional solidarity can
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be grouped into the pull category of motiv-
ation.
Motivation, or more specifically the achieve-
ment of the wants/needs that motivate an indi-
vidual to act, is the source of satisfaction. If the
achievement is better/higher than expected or
needed, an individual will probably be satis-
fied, and vice versa. Thus, in this study, it is
hypothesized that emotional solidarity with
international tourists/foreigners, as an external
motivation factor, will affect local residents’
life satisfaction.
H5: emotional solidarity can have an effect on local
residents’ life satisfaction
Functional Predictors and Integrative
Model
The existing literature suggests that such inde-
pendent variables as sex (male/female), edu-
cation, age, and income can predict or
distinguish local residents’ perceptions and/or
attitudes (e.g. Jackson & Inbakaran, 2006;
Nunkoo & Ramkissoon, 2010; Williams &
Lawson, 2001). Among these variables, econ-
omics theory demonstrates that sex and edu-
cation may influence personal income
(Schultz, 1998). Based on the above obser-
vations and corresponding to the perceptual
model developed earlier, the next five hypoth-
eses are formed.
H6: sex can have an effect on local residents’
support-for-tourism
H7: education can have an effect on local residents’
support-for-tourism
H8: income can have an effect on local residents’
support-for-tourism
H9: sex can have an effect on local residents’ income
H10: education can have an effect on local residents’
income
The theoretical model of this study is created
based on the above hypotheses, and is visual-
ized by Figure 1.
Method
Study Design
This study is an exploratory effort in
examining the effects of three less popular per-
ceptual factors as the potential predictors of
local residents’ support-for-tourism. Consider-
ing the study resources, three issues were
taken into account during the testing process:
(1) the scale of the empirical study, (2) the
sampling method, and (3) the analysis of the
data.
First, the empirical test was conducted as a
quantitative case study in Hanoi, the capital
city of Vietnam. In this study, a case study is
broadly defined as “[an] inquiry focusing on
describing, understanding, predicting, and/or
controlling [an] individual”, which can be a
process, organization, group, industry, or
culture (Woodside & Wilson, 2003, p. 493).
The conventional and common knowledge
and practice usually consider case study as a
method for theory building (e.g. Eisenhardt,
1989; Eisenhardt & Graebner, 2007;
 Perceptual and Functional Antecedents of Local Residents’ Support-for-Tourism
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Figure 1 Integrative Theoretical Model.
Kennedy, 1979; Perry, 1998). However, it can
also be applied to the testing of hypotheses (e.g.
Flyvbjerg, 2006; Woodside & Wilson, 2003),
which is the purpose of this study.
Second, the snowball sampling technique
was adopted. Snowball sampling is often
used to approach a hidden or hard-to-recruit
population. In this study, the population is
not hidden, but since they are not so familiar
with academic research procedures, they are
defined as a hard-to-recruit population.
(Although there are some academic efforts tar-
geting Vietnamese residents, the number of
studies is small, and the majority of Vietna-
mese people do not have experience participat-
ing in such activities.) The snowball sampling
technique has several advantages, for
example, time and cost saving, diversifying
and targeting subjects, and cultural compe-
tence (Sadler, Lee, Lim, & Fullerton, 2010).
However, this method also has several weak-
nesses, for example, the sample is not ran-
domly selected, the sample may be
overrepresented, and the participant may with-
held information (Sadler et al., 2010).
Noticeably, both case study and snowball
sampling methods may consequently lead to
381
the limited generalizability of the empirical
findings (e.g. Tsang, 2014). This limit comes
from the representativeness/homogeneity of
the sample (e.g. Kennedy, 1979; Sadler et al.,
2010). However, the findings of a single case
study can still be generalized both theoretically
and empirically. With theoretical generaliz-
ation, researchers find the explanations for
the relationships observed between/among
measured constructs to build a new theory or
to refine an existing theory (Tsang, 2014).
With empirical generalization, they search for
similar relationships in the existing theory to
generalize their findings to the population
from which the sample was generated or to
other populations (Tsang, 2014). With both
types, researchers can apply triangulation
methods to support their efforts, which
include theory-, data-, investor-, and method-
based techniques (e.g. Decrop, 1999; Tsang,
2014; Yin, 2013). Quantitative single case
study, in particular, cannot usually apply the
last three techniques due to its natural design;
yet, this case study can use the existing litera-
ture to enhance its generalization (Blair &
Zinkhan, 2006). In this study, the main objec-
tive is theoretical generation; yet, empirical
 382 Bình Nghiêm-Phú
generation will also be considered when appli-
cable.
The third issue addressed in this section is
the analysis of the model. Partial least
squares structural equation modeling was
selected as the main analysis technique. This
method is appropriate when the research
objective is theory development and the struc-
tural model is complex (Hair, Ringle, & Sar-
stedt, 2011), which are the characteristics of
this study. SmartPLS 3.2.0 (http://www.
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smartpls.de/) was adopted as the analysis tool
(Hansmann & Ringle, 2004). Before the verifi-
cation of the model, the analysis of the multi-
item constructs was conducted. Accordingly,
the latent structures of four perceptual con-
structs were revealed through exploratory
factor analysis implemented in SPSS 16. After
that, the structures were confirmed with the
assistance of Amos 21.
Instrument Development
In order to verify the relationships hypoth-
esized in Figure 1, this study applied a
structured method. A self-administered ques-
tionnaire was used as the instrument. The
emotional solidarity scale was adopted from
Woosnam (2008, 2012) and Woosnam et al.
(2014). In Woosnam’s studies, emotional
solidarity was measured between residents
and tourists in a community context, while in
this study it was measured between local
residents and international tourists/foreigners
in a country setting. Thus, adjustments
were made to the subject and setting in the
original expressions (e.g. replacing “tourists”
by “international tourists/foreigners”). In
addition, instead of the original 7-point scale,
a 5-point scale (strongly disagree–strongly
agree) was used since it is more common in
the studies targeting Vietnamese respondents
(e.g. Bui & Jolliffe, 2011). This is also the
reason behind the application of a 5-point
scale to measure all of the constructs in this
study.
The life-satisfaction scale consists of cognitive
and affective subscales (Nghiêm-Phú, 2013).
There are 11 cognitive items and 8 affective
items in this scale. The lowest and highest
measures of the cognitive life-satisfaction sub-
scale were “extremely dissatisfied” and “extre-
mely satisfied”, while those of the affective
life-satisfaction subscale were “strongly dis-
agree” and “strongly agree”.
Similarly to the life-satisfaction scale, per-
ceived country image was also structured by
the cognitive and the affective components.
Twenty-two items were selected from previous
studies to measure the cognitive image of
Vietnam. The development of this subscale
was as follows. First, a pool of the items utilized
in or discovered by previous studies was
created (e.g. Bui, 2011; Bui & Perez, 2010;
Lai & Nguyen, 2013; Tran, Schneider, &
Gartner, 2006; Truong, 2005; Truong &
King, 2009). Second, a shortlist of those items
found in two studies or more was made. In
the third step, those items with similar mean-
ings were adjusted or combined to form the
final list of items. The scale to measure cogni-
tive country image ranged from “very unfavor-
able” to “very favorable”. In addition, the
subscale to measure Vietnam’s affective image
was found in Russell and Pratt (1980). This
subscale incudes four bipolar adjectives attri-
buting to the feelings that an individual may
have toward an environment.
Local residents’ attitudes toward tourism
support include six items generated through a
screening of the existing literature. First, the
measures in previous studies were grouped
into two general categories: single-item
scale and multiple-item scale. Within the
multiple-item scale category, four sub-groups
 Perceptual and Functional Antecedents of Local Residents’ Support-for-Tourism
were divided, including different attitudes
scale, different facilities scale, different
tourism-products scale, and specific tourism-
product scale. From this categorization, six
measures were selected, including the support
attitudes toward (1) tourist (e.g. Andriotis,
2005; Choi & Murray, 2010; Lankford,
1994; Perdue et al., 1987; Williams &
Lawson, 2001), (2) facility (e.g. Andereck &
Vogt, 2000; Lankford, 1994; Oviedo-Garcia
et al., 2008; Ritchie, 1988; Sirakaya et al.,
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2002; Wang & Pfister, 2008), (3) product (e.
g. Gursoy & Rutherford, 2004; Nunkoo &
Ramkissoon, 2010), (4) attraction (e.g. Choi
& Murray, 2010), (5) promotion (e.g.
Oviedo-Garcia et al., 2008), and (6) rec-
ommendation (e.g. Schroeder, 1996).
Respondents’ profile includes their age, sex
(male/female), education, occupation, and
annual income. The “sex” variable was
coded by dummy values (0 for male, 1 for
female). Education attainment was divided
into three levels, while annual income was
grouped into 12 categories (Table 1). The
scale to measure the annual income was
derived from Bui and Jolliffe (2011).
The questionnaire was developed in
English, and was checked by an English lin-
guist and a group of English users for its
grammar and expression. Two translators
were asked to translate the original question-
naire into Vietnamese. Another two transla-
tors then translated it back to English to
guarantee the appropriateness. Small adjust-
ments were made by the researcher to the
final Vietnamese instrument. After that, the
instrument was answered by a sample of 42
local residents in Hanoi, Vietnam, in August
2013. The results showed that the respon-
dents could understand and respond to the
contents of the questionnaire correctly. No
adjustment was made to the instrument
after that.
383
Data Collection
The collection of the answers was conducted
in March and May 2014. To delimit the disad-
vantages of snowball sampling, the main
survey was conducted in two separate
phases, with the latter implemented two
months after the first. Different first-level par-
ticipants in different areas of Hanoi were
recruited in each phase; they are friends or
friends of friends of the researcher. The
purpose was to diversify the sample and
respondents’ answers. In addition, the
answers of those respondents whose back-
ground information was not fully provided
were eliminated to guarantee the authenticity
of the responses.
Results
Sample Description
A total of 584 valid answers were generated
from the two phases of the main survey.
However, a subsample of 306 complete
responses with full background information
was drawn from the initial list and formed
the basis of this analysis. Female respondents
outnumber their male counterparts (59.5%
vs. 40.5%). The majority belong to the 20–
49 years of age group (nearly 86%). More
than 70% attained a college or similar edu-
cational level certificate. Respondents’ occu-
pations were put into 41 groups; however,
only those reported by more than 2% of the
respondents were introduced in Table 1.
Among the occupations, office/governmental
staff positions accounted for the largest percen-
tage (21.2%). Those who reported an annual
income of 120 million Vietnamese Dong
(VND) or more accounted for 20.6% of the
sample.
 384 Bình Nghiêm-Phú

Table 1 Respondents’ Profile

n % n %

Sex Age
Male 124 40.5 <20 5 1.6
Female 182 59.5 20–29 57 18.6
Highest education attainment 30–39 144 47.1
High school or lower 31 10.1 40–49 61 19.9
Undergraduate 217 70.9 50–59 24 7.8
Graduate 58 19.0 60–69 10 3.3
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Occupation >70 5 1.6

Accountant 25 8.2 Annual income
Doctor 8 2.6 <10 million VND 39 12.7
Engineer 27 8.8 10–19 million VND 22 7.2
Freelance 11 3.6 20–29 million VND 15 4.9
Lecturer 7 2.3 30–39 million VND 24 7.8
Office/Governmental staff 65 21.2 40–49 million VND 20 6.5
Researcher 10 3.3 50–59 million VND 15 4.9
Retiree 10 3.3 60–69 million VND 33 10.8
Sales/Business person 29 9.5 70–79 million VND 21 6.9
Soldier 13 4.2 80–89 million VND 24 7.8
Student 11 3.6 90–99 million VND 16 5.2
Teacher 19 6.2 100–119 million VND 14 4.6
Worker 11 3.6 >120 million VND 63 20.6

Scales Analysis loadings were bigger than 0.60, and com-

First, principle components analysis was
applied to reduce an initial scale into a
smaller set of factors which provide the
same information (Leech, Barrett, &
Morgan, 2005). Next, exploratory factor
analysis was conducted with the previously
determined number of factors to reveal the
latent structure of a construct. All determi-
nant values >0.0001, Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin
values > 0.70, and significance levels of the
Bartlett’s Tests of Sphericity < 0.05; conse-
quently, the factoring solutions were accepted
(Leech et al., 2005). In addition, all factor
munalities were close to or larger than 0.50.
Lastly, confirmatory factor analysis was com-
puted to verify the latent structures of the
multifactor constructs (i.e. country image,
emotional solidarity, and life satisfaction).
Following Campbell and Fiske (1959),
Fornell and Larcker (1981), and Schermel-
leh-Engel, Moosbrugger, and Müller (2003),
several criteria were considered to verify the
validity of a structure. First, all factors
should significantly correlate to one another
to meet the convergent validity criterion
(Campbell & Fiske, 1959). Second, each
factor’s average-variance-extracted value
 Perceptual and Functional Antecedents of Local Residents’ Support-for-Tourism
(AVE) should be larger than 0.50, and com-
posite reliability (CR) bigger than 0.70
(Fornell & Larcker, 1981). In addition, the
squared variance of two factors should not
exceed their AVEs in order for the structure
to meet the discriminant validity criterion
(Fornell & Larcker, 1981). Furthermore, a
structure would be accepted when its good-
ness-of-fit met or was close to the following
indices: SRMR < 0.10, NFI > 0.90, CFI >
0.95, GFI > 0.90, and AGFI > 0.85, with
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SRMR = Standardized Root Mean squared
Residual, NFI = Normed Fit Index, CFI =
Comparative Fit Index, GFI = Goodness-of-
Fit Index, and AGFI = Adjusted Goodness-
of-Fit Index (Schermelleh-Engel et al., 2003).
All analyses were conducted in SPSS 16 and
Amos 21.
As a result, three factors were generated
from the 22 items of the cognitive country
image subscale. The first factor consists of
five items, and was named “infrastructure
and service quality”. This factor had an eigen-
value of 3.737, and accounted for 28.743% of
the total variance. The eigenvalues and percen-
tages of variance of the second and the third
factors were 3.248 and 1.743, and 24.981
and 13.405, respectively. The second factor
has four items which relate to “tourist attrac-
tions”, while the third factor is structured by
the two items of “safety”. In this solution, 11
items were excluded due to cross-loading. To
be specific, the items which loaded on two or
more factors but the gaps between/among the
loading values were smaller than 0.30 were
excluded (Ferguson & Cox, 1993; Matsunaga,
2010). With the affective country image sub-
scale, only one factor was generated without
any deletion of item. All factors’ Cronbach’s
alphas of close to or larger than 0.80
show the high internal consistency among/
between the items of each factor (Leech
et al., 2005).
385
The confirmatory factor analysis of country
image structure with three cognitive factors
and one affective factor shows an acceptable
result (Tables 2 and 3). All factor loadings
were larger than 0.65. CIF1 had the lowest
AVE value (0.581); however, it exceeded the
0.50 threshold suggested by Fornell and
Larcker (1981). All CRs were close to or
larger than 0.85 while the suggested threshold
is 0.70 (Fornell & Larcker, 1981). The con-
struct met both the convergent validity and dis-
criminant validity. Specifically, all factors
significantly correlated to one another (conver-
gent validity; Campbell & Fiske, 1959).
In addition, the squared value of the correlation
between two factors was smaller than their
corresponding AVEs (discriminant validity;
Fornell & Larcker, 1981). Some of the fit
indices of the model were slightly lower than
the desired levels, including SRMR = 0.063,
NFI = 0.888, CFI = 0.917, GFI = 0.884, and
AGFI = 0.834. This suggests that the model
can be improved with some modifications.
For example, after correlating CI6 and CI7 (r
= 0.307, p = .000), and CI10 and CI18 (r =
0.387, p = .000), the goodness-of-fit of the
structure was improved and met the criteria
(SRMR = 0.060, NFI = 0.910, CFI = 0.940,
GFI = 0.907, and AGFI = 0.864). Therefore,
the structure of country image was approved.
In addition, two factors were extracted from
the 10 items of the emotional solidarity scale.
Two items were removed from the analysis
due to cross-loading. Each factor consists of
four items, with eigenvalues >2.0, and made
up of more than 30% of the total variance.
Cronbach’s alphas were close to or bigger
than 0.86. The confirmation of this construct’s
structure also resulted in a favorable outcome
(Table 4). Accordingly, all the items had a
loading value of 0.70 or above. All the AVEs
and CRs well exceeded the thresholds
suggested by Fornell and Larcker (1981) (i.e.
 386 Bình Nghiêm-Phú

Table 2 Confirmatory Factor Analysis of Country Image

Factor Code Item Loading AVE CR Alpha

Infrastructure and service quality .581 .874 .850

(CIF1)
CI7 Architecture .697
CI8 Accommodations .786
CI9 Restaurants .754
CI10 Transportation .726
CI18 Cleanliness .726
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Tourist attractions (CIF2) .699 .902 .835

CI3 Natural landscapes/ .792
scenery
CI4 World heritage sites .835
CI5 Cultural activities .709
CI6 History .671
Safety (CIF3) .734 .846 .799
CI16 Political stability .817
CI17 Safety, security .819
Affect (AIF) .730 .915 .906
AI1 Unpleasant/Pleasant .827
AI2 Sleepy/Arousing .830
AI3 Distressing/Relaxing .866
AI4 Gloomy/Exciting .846

Table 3 Correlations Among Country Image Factors

CIF1 CIF2 CIF3 AIF

CIF1 – .389 (.151) .369 (.136) .586 (.343)

CIF2 – .555 (.308) .282 (.080)
CIF3 – .489 (.239)
AIF –

All correlations were significant at the .000 level. The squared values are put within brackets.

0.50 and 0.70, respectively). Two factors sig- their AVEs both exceeded the squared value
nificantly correlated to each other (r = 0.497, of the two factors’ correlation (0.247); conse-
p = .000); thus, the convergent validity was quently, the discriminant validity was also sat-
met (Campbell & Fiske, 1959). In addition, isfied (Fornell & Larcker, 1981). Without any
 Perceptual and Functional Antecedents of Local Residents’ Support-for-Tourism 387

Table 4 Confirmatory Factor Analysis of Emotional Solidarity

Factor Code Item Loading AVE CR Alpha

Understanding and .741 .919 .877

identifying (ESF1)
ES6 I have made friends with some .766
international tourists and
foreigners
ES7 I identify with international .763
tourists and foreigners
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ES8 I have a lot in common with .851

international tourists and
foreigners
ES10 I understand international .823
tourists and foreigners
Pride and .757 .925 .859
appreciation (ESF2)
ES1 I am proud to have international .729
tourists and foreigners come to
my country
ES2 I feel that my community directly .865
benefits from international
tourists and foreigners
ES3 I appreciate international tourists .817
and foreigners for the economic
contribution
ES4 I feel close to some international .703
tourists and foreigners I have
met

modification, the model had the following
accepted fit indices: SRMR = 0.053, NFI =
0.946, CFI = 0.960, GFI = 0.947, and AGFI =
0.899.
Moreover, 11 items of the cognitive life-sat-
isfaction subscale were divided into two
factors. The first factor includes six items
(leisure, health, safety, living conditions,
finance/money, and self); it was titled “living
conditions and oneself”. The second factor
has only two items (familial relationships and
friendships), and has the name of “relation-
ships”. Three items were removed due to
cross-loading. Cronbach’s alphas of the two
factors were 0.901 and 0.738, respectively,
eigenvalues ranged from 1.5 to 3.4, and the
two factors accounted for more than 60.8%
of the total variance. Furthermore, eight
items of the affective life-satisfaction subscale
were grouped into two factors. Factor 1
 388 Bình Nghiêm-Phú
includes the positive evaluations of life satisfac-
tion, and factor 2 the negative ones. Cron-
bach’s alphas of the two factors were larger
than 0.90, eigenvalues ranged from 2.5 to
3.4, and the two factors accounted for nearly
74% of the total variance.
Confirmatory factor analysis was also
conducted to verify the structure of life satis-
faction. However, in order to attain an accep-
table outcome, one major modification was
made. Initially, the four factors of life satisfac-
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tion were combined in a first-order model. The
result showed that all items had a loading of
0.60 or more, and significantly loaded on
their factors. Nonetheless, LSAF2 did not sig-
nificantly correlate with LSCF1 (r = 0.020, p
= .746), and LSAF1 (r = −0.072, p = .243).
Therefore, a modification was made by remov-
ing LSAF2 from the test in the next step. The
adjusted structure gained favorable indices
(Tables 5 and 6). For example, all CRs were
well above the 0.70 threshold, while all AVEs
exceeded the 0.50 criteria (Fornell & Larcker,
1981). The two cognitive factors and one affec-
tive factor significantly correlated with one
another; consequently, the structure had its
convergent validity (Campbell & Fiske,
1959). Moreover, squared values of the
factors’ correlations were smaller than their
AVEs; thus, the structure satisfied the discrimi-
nant validity criterion (Fornell & Larcker,
1981). The selected fit indices were close to
or above the acceptable values: SRMR =
0.044, NFI = 0.916, CFI = 0.938, GFI = 0.899,
and AGFI = 0.852. However, in order to
examine the possibility of improving the good-
ness of this model, another minor modification
was undertaken. Specifically, the exogenous
variables of two items (LSC7 and LSC8) were
correlated. The outcome showed that this cor-
relation was positive and significant (r = 0.429;
p = .000). All the selected fit indices satisfied
the desired criteria, including SRMR = 0.039,
NFI = 0.935, CFI = 0.957, GFI = 0.921, and
AGFI = 0.883. As a result, the structure of the
life-satisfaction construct was also approved.
Finally, the analysis of six support-for-
tourism measures only generated one factor
(Table 7). All items had high loadings (>0.80)
and communalities (>0.65); the construct’s
alpha exceeded the 0.95 level.
Hypotheses Verification
The theoretical model was verified using the
partial least squares technique. A total of
5000 bootstrap samples were estimated to gen-
erate the necessary data (Hair et al., 2011;
Hair, Sarstedt, Ringle, & Mena, 2012). A sig-
nificant correlation was confirmed when it
had a t-value of 1.96 or higher, and a p-value
below .05 (Hair et al., 2011).
The results of the analysis are provided in
Table 8. Accordingly, emotional solidarity
(t = 6.432, p = .000), life satisfaction (t =
2.269, p = .023), and education (t = 2.641,
p = .008) had significant effects on support-
for-tourism. In addition, sex (t = 3.146,
p = .002) and education (t = 3.922, p = .000)
could generate significant influences on
income. Consequently, five hypotheses (H1,
H3, H7, H9, and H10) were supported while
the remaining were not.
Together the six predictors could explain
33.1% of the total variance of support-for-
tourism. When tested separately, the three
perceptual factors could contribute 32.0% of
the explanation while the three functional
factors’ contribution was 3.6%.
Discussion and Conclusion
This study revealed two major outcomes. The
first was that the roles of emotional solidarity
 Perceptual and Functional Antecedents of Local Residents’ Support-for-Tourism 389

Table 5 Confirmatory Factor Analysis of Life Satisfaction

Factor Code Item Loading AVE CR Alpha

Living conditions and .804 .886 .901

oneself (LSCF1)
LSC6 Leisure .774
LSC7 Health .759
LSC8 Safety .769
LSC9 Living conditions .825
LSC10 Finance/Money .764
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LSC11 Self .768

Relationships (LSCF2) .675 .926 .738
LSC1 Relationships with parents/ .615
siblings/children
LSC2 Friendships .963
Positive affective .741 .935 .915
evaluation (LSAF1)
LSA1 My life’s conditions are .814
excellent
LSA2 This is the dearest time of my .843
life
LSA3 I am as happy as when I was .812
younger
LSA4 Things are as interesting as .820
they were in the past
LSA5 My life is close to ideal .847

Table 6 Correlations Among Life-Satisfaction Factors

LSCF1 LSCF2 LSAF1

LSCF1 – .590 (.348) .775 (.601)

LSCF2 – .487 (.237)
LSAF1 –

All correlations were significant at the .000 level. The squared values are put within brackets.

(Woosnam, 2012) and life satisfaction positive in their directions. Thus, a stronger
(Woo et al., 2015) as two perceptual predictors attitude can be considered as the consequence
of local residents’ support-for-tourism were of a more positive solidarity in emotion with
confirmed. In all cases, the correlations were international tourists/foreigners, and a higher
 390
Table 7 Exploratory Factor Analysis of Support-for-Tourism

Bình Nghiêm-Phú
Code Item Factor loading Communality
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TS1 I support the government to attract more tourists .884 .781

TS2 I support the government to develop more tourist facilities .844 .713
TS3 I support the government to develop more tourism products .942 .887
TS4 I support the government to develop more tourist attractions .906 .820
TS5 I support the government to enhance tourism promotion .870 .758
TS6 I recommend international tourists to visit my country .808 .653
Eigenvalue = 4.612 Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin = .875
% of variance = 76.868 Significance = .000
Determinant = .001 Cronbach’s alpha = .951

Table 8 Results of Hypotheses Testing

Hypothesis Path coefficient t-Value Significance Status

H1: support-for-tourism ← emotional solidarity .487 6.432 .000 Confirmed

H2: support-for-tourism ← country image −.009 .123 .902 Disconfirmed
H3: support-for-tourism ← life satisfaction .138 2.269 .023 Confirmed
H6: support-for-tourism ← sex −.030 .711 .477 Disconfirmed
H7: support-for-tourism ← education .107 2.641 .008 Confirmed
H8: support-for-tourism ← income .048 1.166 .244 Disconfirmed
H4: life satisfaction ← emotional solidarity .001 1.228 .220 Disconfirmed
H5: life satisfaction ← country image .001 1.009 .313 Disconfirmed
H9: income ← sex −.173 3.146 .002 Confirmed
H10: income ← education .215 3.922 .000 Confirmed
 Perceptual and Functional Antecedents of Local Residents’ Support-for-Tourism
satisfaction with life. However, two points
should be noted. First, in Woosnam (2012),
support-for-tourism is one of the two factors
underlying the attitudes toward tourism-impact
scale which consists of the evaluations of both
tourism support and tourism impact, while this
study only focused on the attitudes toward
support-for-tourism. In addition, the context of
the previous study (i.e. a county) was smaller
than that of the current study (i.e. a country).
Second, in Woo et al. (2015), the researchers
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examined the influence of “overall quality of
life” on local residents’ attitude (i.e. “the con-
ditions of my life are excellent”, “so far I have
gotten the important things I want in life”, and
“I am satisfied with my life as a whole”). In
this study, these measures were treated as the
affective life-satisfaction indicators; in addition,
both the cognitive and affective domains of life
satisfaction were taken into account. In
addition, the previous research surveyed respon-
dents in four study sites; in the current effort,
only one study site was targeted.
A part of this result can be explained by the
social exchange theory. Social exchange theory
suggests that tourism actors (e.g. local resi-
dents) exchange benefits/costs with one
another and/or with the tourism industry.
When the actors evaluate the impacts of
tourism positively, they demonstrate more
positive attitudes toward tourism and/or
tourism development, and vice versa (e.g.
Andriotis & Vaughan, 2003; Oviedo-Garcia
et al., 2008; Perdue et al., 1990). In the case
of emotional solidarity (Woosnam, 2012),
local residents exchange the emotional benefits
with other actors (international tourists and
foreign residents in this study). Consequently,
when they weigh the benefits heavier than the
costs, they show their support-for-tourism
development in their community or country.
Another part of the result was supported by
the understanding of satisfaction. Satisfaction
391
is considered as the “fulfillment of one’s
wishes, expectations, or needs, or the pleasure
derived from this” (Oxford Dictionaries,
2015). In the tourism context, researchers
have examined tourists’ satisfaction with the
trips and/or destinations. It was found that sat-
isfaction is an antecedent of tourists’ attitude
and behavior, for example, intention to
revisit and recommend a destination (e.g. Lee
& Hsu, 2013; Song, Li, van der Veen, &
Chen, 2011). The finding of this study, thus,
is consistent with the existing knowledge.
Accordingly, with local residents, satisfaction
is also an antecedent of their attitude and
evaluation. However, it should be noted that
satisfaction with the trip/destination is satisfac-
tion with the external/environmental con-
ditions. Otherwise, satisfaction with life is the
satisfaction with internal/personal conditions.
Several factors can be considered either as
external or internal, for example, leisure and
living conditions. Considering the outcome of
this study, a potential theoretical extension
can be considered. Accordingly, internal satis-
faction (e.g. life satisfaction) is also an antece-
dent of consequent behavior and attitude (e.g.
support-for-tourism). In other words, internal
satisfaction is not only an effect of other pro-
cesses (e.g. travel and tourism) but can also
act as a predictor of other variables (e.g. Woo
et al., 2015).
The second major outcome of this study was
that perceptual factors had more effects on
local residents’ support-for-tourism attitude
than functional factors. This outcome was in
line with the observations found in previous
studies in the tourism context (e.g. King
et al., 1993; Milman & Pizam, 1988; Sirakaya
et al., 2002). Furthermore, it was strengthened
by the findings of consumer research. For
example, Andaleeb (1994) used three percep-
tual factors (i.e. increase of cost, helpfulness,
and manipulation) and three functional items
 392 Bình Nghiêm-Phú
(i.e. sex, income, and education) to predict cus-
tomers’ attitude toward hospital advertise-
ment. The results of regression analysis
showed that the perceptual model could
explain 42% of the total variance of the inde-
pendent construct, while the integrative model
could only explain an additional proportion of
3%. Among the three functional variables,
only education could generate a significant
effect. In another study, Rugimbana (1995)
examined the relationships between perceptions
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of ATM or Automatic Teller Machine (e.g. con-
venience, ease of use, and compatibility) and
demographic variables (e.g. age, education,
and occupation), and ATM usage. Similarly to
the findings of Andaleeb (1994), it was found
by Rugimbana (1995) that the perceptual com-
ponents had more predictive power. In addition,
only the functional variable of “education”
could show a significant influence.
To sum up the empirical findings of this study
and the theoretical supports found in previous
research in different fields, it is postulated that
local residents’ perception of the external
factors (emotional solidarity) and their evalu-
ation of the internal variables (life satisfaction)
strongly affect their attitude toward tourism
development in their community or country.
Otherwise, functional elements (demographic
variables) only generate a modest effect.
Among the variables of the functional category,
education is a more powerful predictor of local
residents’ support-for-tourism. In addition, its
influence is positive. In other words, local resi-
dents who have a better achievement in edu-
cation tend to show more support for the
development of tourism in their community or
country.
Consequently, this study advocates a
psychological approach in tourism research
and management with the focus on the exam-
ination and control of tourism actors’ percep-
tions, attitudes, and behaviors (e.g. local
residents). However, tourism actors’ evalu-
ations are subjective and dynamic. Therefore,
research efforts should be repeated periodically
to see the changes in their evaluations,
especially before the implementation of impor-
tant development projects. In addition, edu-
cational efforts to improve local residents’
knowledge and understanding are also necess-
ary in order to build and maintain a favorable
environment for tourism development in a
community or country.
From the empirical outcomes, implications
for the social and tourism management in
Vietnam can be considered. Accordingly, Viet-
namese local residents are proud to host
international tourists and foreigners, and
appreciate their contributions to their commu-
nity and their country (ESF2’s mean value =
4.08). The “welcoming nature”, as Woosnam
(2012, p. 323) put it, implies local residents’
personal interests in tourists and tourism.
Residents who feel close to tourists and have forged
friendships are in a greater position to recognize the
contributions of tourism to the community. After
all, such friendships are a paramount example of
the social impacts that are reaped through tourism
in a destination. (Woosnam, 2012, p. 323)
Further tourism development in Vietnam can
be firmly implemented based on this social plat-
form. Nevertheless, several social issues may
originate from the relationship between local
residents and international tourists/foreigners.
For example, Vietnamese people are friendly
and warm-hearted; this characteristic should
be cultivated. However, bad behaviors (e.g.
queuing culture, eating behavior, and sanitary
habits) should be eliminated through education
and communication (e.g. Phạm, 2013). Other-
wise, foreigners in Vietnam have been violating
its laws and regulations (e.g. Ðoàn, 2012;
Nguyễn, 2013; Trần, 2012). However, no
 Perceptual and Functional Antecedents of Local Residents’ Support-for-Tourism 393

thorough solutions have been implemented to Limits and Recommendations

address these issues, blaming the complication
of the cases, the insufficiency of the current
legal system, and the lack of foreign language
abilities of legal officers, among others.
Recent incidents in the South China Sea
between China and Vietnam also fueled some
conflicts between Vietnamese and foreigners
(e.g. Kaiman, 2014). Under this circumstance,
Vietnamese central, provincial, and local gov-
ernmental agencies should acknowledge and
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This study could not avoid some limits. The
first is its empirical generalizability. The
sample was generated through a snowball
sampling method; thus, the probabilistic gener-
alizability (generalization through sampling) of
the findings is limited. In addition, only Hanoi
was selected as the study site; consequently, the
setting was also limited. However, the results
of this study can be generalized to a larger

confront these issues to maintain its social stab-
ility. In addition, the maintenance and cultiva-
tion of a friendly relationship between local
residents and foreigners will gain local resi-
dents’ support for further development of
tourism in their country.
context because it was successful in verifying
a theoretical model which was built on the
existing literature and the findings of previous
studies (Blair & Zinkhan, 2006). The second
limit relates to the proportions of two sexes’
respondents. Within the sample, females were

Table 9 Factor-based Predictive Analysis

LSCF1 LSCF2 LSAF1 Support

Country image Adjusted Adjusted Adjusted Adjusted

R2 = 0.476 R2 = 0.222 R2 = 0.418 R2 = 0.171
CIF1 t = 6.330 t = 0.046 t = 5.012 t = 1.022
p = .000 p = .963 p = .000 p = .307
CIF2 t = 1.589 t = 5.348 t = 3.651 t = 4.872
p = .112 p = .000 p = .000 p = .000
CIF3 t = 6.276 t = 3.862 t = 2.751 t = 2.544
p = .000 p = .000 p = .006 p = .011
AIF t = 3.493 t = 0.600 t = 4.241 t = 2.204
p = .000 p = .549 p = .000 p = .028
Emotional solidarity Adjusted Adjusted Adjusted
R2 = 0.134 R2 = 0.126 R2 = 0.217
ESF1 t = 4.747 t = 0.120 t = 6.846
p = .000 p = .904 p = .000
ESF2 t = 2.971 t = 6.539 t = 2.299
p = .003 p = .000 p = .022

CIF1 = Infrastructure and service quality; CIF2 = Tourist attractions; CIF3 = Safety; AIF = Affect; ESF1 = Understanding and
identifying; ESF2 = Pride and appreciation; LSCF1 = Living conditions and oneself; LSCF2 = Relationships; LSAF1 = Positive
affective evaluation
 394 Bình Nghiêm-Phú
19% more than males. This unbalance might
produce a sex-related bias in the responses.
Considering these issues, several suggestions
for future studies are proposed. First, the theor-
etical model of this study can be replicated in
other contexts to see its stability and/or varia-
bility. Second, the hypotheses concerning the
perceptual factors which were not supported
can be retested to provide a stronger basis to
confirm or reject them. In order to provide
some empirical evidence, a factor-based predic-
Downloaded by [Orta Dogu Teknik Universitesi] at 00:56 09 March 2016
tive analysis was conducted. The results of the
analyses which were implemented in SmartPLS
3.2.0 are displayed in Table 9. Accordingly, at
least two out of four components of country
image showed positively significant influences
on the independent components. In addition,
both factors of emotional solidarity were the
significant predictors of two out of three
factors of life satisfaction (i.e. LSCF1 and
LSAF1); the effects were positive. Third,
future studies should include other perceptual
and functional variables in their corresponding
models and retest the predictive power of the
perceptual model. Consequently, they may
increase the contribution of the perceptual
factors’ effects on local residents’ attitudes
and evaluations.
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