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UU-M1465
Examensarbete 30hp
Juni2020
Sustainable e-marketing and
its influence on Swedish tourists'
intention to choose sustainable
travel packages
Azamat Kashebayev
Department of Engineering Sciences Master’s Programme in Sustainable
Destination Development
Besöksadress: Uppsala University – Campus Gotland, Cramérgatan 3, SE-621 57 VISBY
Postadress: Campus Gotland, SE-621 67 VISBY
Telefon: +46 498 10 82 00 (Reception)
Telefax: +46 498 10 84 95
Hemsida: https://www.campusgotland.uu.se/
Abstract
Sustainable e-marketing and its influence on Swedish
tourists' intention to choose sustainable travel
packages
Azamat Kashebayev
The present research project was executed as the tourism industry has developed into a significant contributor to the negative impact on the environment through unregulated mass tourism, unmitigated transportation emissions, and lack of the stakeholders' full-
scale involvement in sustainability marketing. The research work was conducted in Sweden, and 114 respondents (residents of
Sweden/native Swedish language speakers) were used to collect empirical information about Swedish tourists' intention to choose sustainable travel packages.
To test the hypothesis, check the reliability and validity of extracted results, SPSS Multiple Linear Regression Analysis (main test), Pearson Correlation, Cronbach's alpha, KMO (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin), and Bartlett's Tests were computed, and the results were
analyzed. The results of Multiple Linear Regression Analysis were melded with the theory of planned behavior I. Ajzen (1991) and the signaling theory of M. Spence.
The result showed that the impact of sustainable e-marketing on Swedish tourists' intention to choose sustainable charter trips by and large positively correlated with high sustainability awareness, pro-environmental attitudes, readiness to pay for sustainability
products and services, and the factor of certification executed by the well known independent environmental organizations. This research has elucidated high sustainability awareness and pro-environmental attitudes as well as the high level of
trust towards independent environmental organizations and, by the way, towards research Universities/researchers as well, which means that the factor of readiness to pay for sustainability products and services was the only factor that aberrated Swedish tourists' intention-behavior relations. The outcome of this research has demonstrated
that Swedish tourists associate sustainability with expensive services and products. Such perception of sustainability significantly diminishes Swedish tourists' sustainable preferences and behavioral habits.
Keywords: Sustainable Destination Development, Tourism Industry, Swedish tourists’ sustainable behavior, Sustainable travel packages, Sustainability, Exploratory correlation matrix.
Supervisor: Magnus Larsson Subject Reader: Göran Lindström Examiner: Ulrika Persson-Fischier
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………… 5
1.1 Background …………………………………………………… 5
1.2 Problem Discussion …………………………………………… 8
1.3 Purpose & Research Questions ………………………………. 9
1.4 Delimitations …………………………………………………. 11
2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK…………………………………….. 12
2.1 Theories……………………………………………….……..... 12
2.2 Literature Review………………………………………........... 13
2.3 Factors Influencing Decision-making ………………………… 15
2.4 Swedish tourists’ intention analysis……………………..…….. 18
3. METHODOLOGY…………………………………………................. 21
3.1 Method…………………………………………………………. 21
3.2 Design………………………………………………….……… 22
3.3 Data Analysis …………………………………………………. 23
3.4 Quality Criteria ……………………………………………….. 24
3.5 Research Ethics………………………………………………... 26
3.6 Reliability and validity ……………………………………….. 27
4. RESULT & ANALYSIS………………………………………………. 29
4.1 Descriptive statistics…………………………………………… 29
4.2 Significance tests …………………………………………….. 34
4.3 Pearson correlation ……………………………………………. 36
4.4 Analysis Results …………………………………………........ 44
5. DISCUSSION………………………………………..……................. 46
6. CONCLUSION ……………………………………………….……… 50
6.1 Managerial Implication ……………………………………….. 51
6.2 Future Research ………………………………………………. 52
7. REFERENCES ………………………………………………………. 54
APPENDIX 1 …………………………………………………….. 59
APPENDIX 2 …………………………………………………….. 63
4
List of tables
1. Table 1. Statistics by age groups………………………………..…………. 30
2. Table 2. Descriptive Statistics…………………………………………….. 33
3. Table 3. ANOVAa – analysis of variances, in Multiple Linear
Regression Analysis……………………………………………………. 35
4. Table 4. Multiple Linear Regression Analysis ……………………………. 39
5. Table 5. Multiple linear regression analysis summary…………………... 42
6. Table 6. KMO and Bartlett's Test, statistical indicators of variances …42
List of figures
1. Figure 1. Whom do Swedish tourists travel with?....................................... 31
2. Figure 2. Important factors that impact on Swedish tourists’ decisions
to choose charter trips………………………………………………….. 31
3. Figure 3. Pro-environmental attitudes. The level of Swedish tourists’
concern about global warming and climate change…………………… 32
4. Figure 4. Readiness to pay more for sustainability in %................................... 34
5. Figure 5. Level of Trust – towards sustainability certifications……………… 43
5
1. INTRODUCTION
This introduction provides background information for this research study.
This section continues with the discussion of the problem, the study purpose,
delimitations, and research questions.
1.1 Background
Sustainability, as a concept, has been widely used since the Brundtland
Report of 1987, which stated as the aspirations of humanity towards a more
sustainable future.
In 1987, the concept was formulated as:
“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs.” (Brundtland, 1987 p. 37)
Since the above-mentioned concept has been defined, there have been made
so many efforts to measure sustainability performances in many countries.
Nowadays, global warming is an existential threat to humanity, and people’s
awareness of this problem triggers their sustainable practices, including in
the tourism industry. For instance, more attention has been drawn to the
notion of the cumulative impact on the environment; overtourism is now
known as unsustainable and negative for the environment. Overtourism
without comprehensive sustainable measures has an irreversible detrimental
impact on the environment and local society, which has driven researchers to
identify, scrutinize, assess, and understand people’s intentions to visit more
sustainable destinations (Geoffrey Wall, 2019).
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Social demands push organizations to implement sustainable practices and
integrate them into their business models. These shifts have been studied by
many researchers (Michael Lee Johnstone, Lay Peng Tan, (2015), M.F.
Shellyana Junaedi (2007), Patricia Martinez (2014)) on macro and micro
levels. Still, there is no sufficient data about its influence on Swedish
tourists’ decision making processes towards more sustainable tourism, i.e., at
what degree this sustainability marketing changes tourists’ preferences
towards more sustainable ones. Another aspect is how Swedish tourists
perceive sustainability e-marketing and how they potentially leverage
visitors’/tourists’ positive environmentally-friendly booking intents. Of
course, there are theories like the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) (Ajzen,
1991) as well as the latest Theory of Reasoned Action Approach (TRAA)
(ibid) that tried to explain attitude-behavior correlations. These theories were
widely used, but still, TPB did not explicitly reveal the premises that
anticipate an individual’s environmental behavior, i.e., the “green gap”
discrepancy. The “green gap” concept is defined in research studies as the
gap between consumers’ green actions and green intentions (H. Guyader et
al., 2014).
These theories are considered a little bit too rational, but the idea is to
theorize, the pro-environmental attitude, and examine its impact on
intentions, which in turn perform the behavior.
Another cause for the behavior-attitude gap or “green gap” dichotomy could
be associated with the control group and the environment, i.e., countries. For
example, Friederike Vinzenz et al. (2019) have investigated customers’
value orientation and “communication effects for different target groups” as
well as how it stimulates their sustainable booking intentions (F. Vinzenz et
al., 2019, p. 1664). The authors of this research paper also offered to
replicate this study in different countries. Specifically, it was mentioned that
credibility and positive emotions in “sustainable tourism advertising require
7
more detailed investigation” (F. Vinzenz et al., 2019, p. 1677).
Massi, M. and De Nisco, A. (2018) pointed out that “it is fundamental for
ecotourism providers to understand travelers’ motivations and build
websites around customer motivations.” (Massi, M. and De Nisco, A., 2018,
p. 162) This study has proposed to elaborate “an appropriate protocol to
investigate a sample of ecotourism providers” as well as to revisit the
congruency of the “marketing initiatives with established consumer
motivations” (Massi, M. and De Nisco, A., 2018, p. 177). While, the role of
trust was analyzed by (Palacios- Florencio, Junco, Castellanos-Verdugo, &
Rosa-Dıaz, 2018), who elucidated the relationship between trust and CSR.
Axel Reiser & David G. Simmons, (2005) also embedded the Theory of
Planned Behavior (TPB) in their research and stated that “most previous
studies on eco-labels investigated tourists’ attitudes rather than their actual
behavior,” and that there was little evidence of the link between behavior
and environmental attitudes (A. Reiser & D. G. Simmons, 2005, p. 591).
The above-mentioned studies showed disconnectedness between attitudes
and behavior; for example, the majority of respondents support the idea to
protect the environment; meanwhile, according to the Eurobarometer 2012,
only 54% of respondents occasionally paid for environmentally-friendly
products, while only 26% of respondents regularly purchased ones.
(Eurobarometer, 2012)
As it has been mentioned above, customers’ behavior has changed, but it can
only mean that today, there are so many negative influences of
“greenwashing” marketing, which has been defined by Peattie and Crane
(2005) as undermining the credibility of sustainable advertising. Surveys,
8
conducted at the EU level – Eurobarometer 2011, prove that percentages of
the sustainable marketing credibility are falling. (F. Testa et al., 2013).
However, in general, the above-mentioned studies and studies mentioned in
the literature review shed light on customers’ attitudes and behavior towards
sustainable products and services; whereas, this particular research is
focusing specifically on Sweden and Swedish citizens and their sustainable
preferences, attitudes, and behavior towards sustainable travel packages.
1.2 Problem Discussion
As the above-mentioned, the tourism industry is the industry that has a
successful marketing/e-marketing system, and it was shown that the
sustainability and eco-labeling marketing had a significant and positive
impact on the booking behavior of tourists. It is worth to mention that a little
adjustment in sustainability marketing can affect tourists’ intentions to book
more Eco-friendly products and services. What factors should be taken into
consideration and included to maximize the attractiveness of sustainable
travel packages? Sustainable marketing/e-marketing has, for many years,
been seen as a pivotal solution to elevate sustainable purchasing decisions.
Elfriede Penz, Eva Hofmann, Barbara Hartl (2017), they revealed a new
approach in measuring consumers’ attitudes and behavior towards eco-
labels. They have incorporated eye-tracking techniques and combined them
with the survey. It allowed them to be so-called “benign inconspicuous” in
data collection, which validity is out of reproach as their variables consisted
of respondents’ physiological reactions without interference. The problem
with this research was based on the fact that students (n=642) were not
tourists (they cannot spend money on traveling, in general, i.e., they have a
different mindset and perception of sustainable tourism), and their
9
perceptions were different, i.e., collected results melded with other
variables.
I have used just the quantitative data collection and analysis method because
it helps to provide correlation studies and/or true experiments, which are
required for the cross-sectional research.
Also, lack in the tourism industry research beyond what exists now is
required to see how, why not/ why consumers accept sustainable travel
packages in order to comprehend the behavioral triggers of Swedish
consumers.
1.3 Purpose & Research Questions
PURPOSE: The main purpose of this thesis is to gain deep insights into
correlations between sustainability e-marketing and Swedish tourists’
booking preferences.
This research is a first attempt to elucidate the discourse around sustainable
e-marketing and the tourists’ level of trust and intentions, which enhances
tourists’ sustainable behavior. The function of the lifestyle approach in this
research work was examined. This research also unveiled a pivotal Swedish
tourists’ attitude towards credible institutions (research Universities, DMOs,
accreditation agencies, etc.), which provide certifications to sustainable
destinations.
The outcome of this research with statistical data analysis can be used by
institutions (tourism organizations, stakeholders, etc.), which can allow them
to embed a holistic approach of sustainable destination development as an
effective strategy to create a loyalty system and not only use one in their
sustainability e-marketing but truly integrate sustainable practices into their
daily routines.
10
As it has been mentioned before, there are quite a lot of studies on
consumers’ unambiguous preferences, but this research aims at filling the
gap by revisiting sustainable marketing (pro-environmental approach), trust
(greenwashing, false marketing, etc.) and behavior (tourists’ booking habits
and intentions) variables through the multiple linear regression analysis as
well as down this research to a particular country – Sweden, and to the
particular target group – tourists who are using charter trips for their
outbound tourism.
The acquired results have helped to comprehend the role of sustainable e-
marketing and how it impacts on Swedish citizens; it has also elucidated the
level of Swedish tourists’ trust as well as discrepancies between their
attitudes and behavior. The outcome of this research gives companies and
stakeholders within the tourism industry a cue to incorporate the
sustainability e-marketing into their companies’ policies and ethos.
The result also revealed a devastating impact of greenwashing, which
alienates tourists from choosing sustainable products and services (i.e., eco-
labeled) provided by the sustainable tour operators, Destination Management
Organizations (DMOs), travel agencies, and other stakeholders. Either way,
it can be mutually beneficial for companies, hotels, and other stakeholders
involved in the tourism industry, as it allows them to change their
sustainable marketing strategies and maximize their KPIs.
Research questions:
1. Are Swedish citizens more prone to choose sustainable travel packages
vs. unsustainable ones?
2. What is the impact of sustainability e-marketing on the Swedish
tourists’ attitudes and behavior towards sustainable tourism?
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3. What is the level of trust among Swedish tourists towards sustainable e-
marketing strategies?
1.4 Delimitations
Due to coronavirus, travel bans, false marketing, spams, and green-washing,
limitations had been set to keep this research within the timeframe, and to
make it maximum relevant. This research study was focused on Swedish
tourists and their perceptions of sustainable travel packages. It means that
stakeholders’ perspectives were not prioritized in the research. Also, as it has
been mentioned before, this study was conducted on Swedish tourists only.
Due to time constraints, only 114 respondents were approached with the
purpose of collecting statistical data for this research. The consequences
associated with the sample number had no significant impact on this study
because the minimum amount of hundred was attained.
In conclusion, it is required to mention that a hundred cases were the
minimum required sample size. The higher the sample number, the more it
contributes to the level of power, alpha error, and R-squared, as well as the
number of covariates.
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2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The section provides the theoretical framework for this study starts with
theories, and critical literature reviews, factors influencing decision-making:
internal and external factors, and, finally, Swedish tourists’ intention
analysis.
2.1 Theories
First, in this thesis, I incorporated models of the theory of planned behavior
(TPB) of Ajzen (1991), in my research, which helped to define predictors of
intentions of the Swedish tourists, based on variables like behavior attitudes,
subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. TPB was applied to a
specific pro-environmental context that allowed me to evaluate
tourists’/consumers’ intentions to buy a sustainable travel package.
Second, I used the signaling theory to explain the behavior of tour operators
(e-marketing) and Swedish tourists when both actors possess so-called
“information asymmetries.” To better understand the idea of this theory, I
have studied and included the article called: “Signaling in retrospect and the
informational structure of markets,” the author of this article is a well-known
economist and a Nobel Prize winner –M. Spence (2002). He described the
signaling theory to show how people/companies communicate information
to get benefits/profits or to avoid making bad decisions.
Sustainability e-marketing provides or creates asymmetric between
stakeholders (tour operators) and tourists. Since Sustainable e-Marketing
Strategy signals tour operators’ commitment towards sustainability, tour
operators (or other involved stakeholders) can moderate the information flow
and asymmetry, i.e., they regulate tourists’ sustainable attitudes & behavior.
13
These two theories were embedded in the research to identify the role of
sustainable marketing/e-marketing and define the gap in understanding the
Swedish tourists’ intention to book sustainable travel packages, mentioned in
chapter 5.
2.2 Literature review
Sustainable behavior, attitude, and trust
Theory of reasoned action (TRA) was proposed by Professor M. Fishbein
the theory known as the expectancy-value model of attitude formation, and it
was elaborated further to the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and later to
the Theory of Reasoned Action Approach (TRAA) by Professor I. Ajzen
(Ajzen, 1991), these are well-known theories that drew correlations among
several variables like behavior attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived
behavioral control to explain attitude-behavior models, which was utilized as
a foundation for this research.
The above-mentioned theory complemented with studies of trust, F. Testa, F.
Iraldo, A Vaccari, E. Ferrari (2013) in their research, unveiled the pivotal
role of trust and confidence. They used Eurobarometer 2011 and other
sources to show the disparity in scientific results of previous surveys. Peattie
and Crane (2005) stated that inconsistencies or discrepancies in results were
caused by so-called "greenwashing," which undermined the credibility of
sustainable marketing and alienated consumers from purchasing sustainable
products and services (Valerie L. Vaccaro, 2009, p. 317).
These research studies have contributed to the understanding of the
Dominant Social Paradigm (K. Peattie, 2010, p. 198) and the necessity to
have credible institutions, including DMOs, accreditation agencies,
14
University, etc. (eco-labels), to provide reliable information to consumers/
tourists on sustainable practices of all involved stakeholders. Ones also
provide a better understanding of how consumers are making their choices
towards more sustainable offerings, services, and products. Following this
logic, I have included variables of trust and credible eco-labels (labels of
credible institutions) in my research method.
Attitude-behavior gap or green gap
Patricia Martinez included the "Green overall image" as a new variable to
assess "perceptions of a firm in a consumer's mind that linked to
environmental commitments and concerns" (P. Martinez, 2014, p 901).
Deviations in consumers' attitudes and behavior, i.e., the green gap, which
backed by numerous scientific studies were revisited by Michael-Lee
Johnstone and Lay Peng Tan (2015), but as it was mentioned in the article
"we still have an incomplete understanding of the gap between consumers'
green rhetoric and purchasing behavior" (Michael-Lee Johnstone, Lay Peng
Tan, 2015, p. 312). The authors state that despite all conducted studies
within sustainability marketing, including perceptions of trust, risks,
performances, prices, quality, and pro-social statuses, there is still a gap in
understanding of green perception.
The research of Michael-Lee Johnstone and Lay Peng Tan is similar to my
research. The difference was based on the fact that sustainability concerns in
the world are deeper now than it was in 2015. The second factor was that I
conducted this research in Sweden – a country with high pro-social and pro-
environmental behavior. In contrast, the authors conducted their empirical
studies of consumers' green perceptions in Australia and New Zeeland.
Victoria K. Wells et al. (2011) also scrutinized the pivotal role of pro-
environmental behaviors (PEBs), in particular, they mentioned that
15
"consumers' sense of responsibility plays in their willingness to engage in
pro-environmental behavior (PEB) is potentially vital and needs to be
researched and understood" (V.K. Wells et al., 2011, p. 812)
It was pivotal to include the notion of a Sustainable overall image and PEBs
of the destination to negate all discrepancies associated with other residuals
of dependent and independent variables, which could have distorted the
overall assessment of the multiple linear regression with the Pearson
correlation.
Taoketao Eerdun, Taiwen Feng, Yongtao Song, Yu Nie, (2018) examined
the sustainability marketing strategy, customer loyalty, competitive intensity,
customer trust, and firm performance. To prove reliability and validity, they
"computed Cronbach's alpha and the composite reliability (CR) value"
(T.Eerdun, et al., 2018, p. 1044), i.e., both of these tests measure and check
internal consistency. I calculated Cronbach's alpha to prove the reliability
and validity of my research, which was presented in the result section of this
thesis paper.
2.3 Factors Influencing Decision-making
In Swedish tourists’ behavior, there are both external (sociological) and
internal (psychological) factors influencing Swedish tourists in their
decision-making processes. External (sociological) factors could be culture,
social status, family, and marketing activities. Internal (psychological)
factors could be intentions/attitudes, perception, personality, emotions,
motives, etc. Hawkins & Mothersbaugh (2013) discussed external and
internal factors, but they examined consumers’ behavior. However, the
tourism industry, marketers, stakeholders, and companies should consider all
16
factors like sociological and psychological together; they have to combine
ones to pursue the best marketing practices.
Considering external and internal factors, it is impossible to exclude the
theory of planned behavior of Fishbein and Ajzen (1991), including social
identity, self-identity, and group norms.
“According to the theory of reasoned action, behavior can best be predicted
from a person’s intention, or willingness, to perform the behavior” (D. J.
Terry et al., p 225). The Swedish tourists’ intention is following the same
logic; it can be referred to as two independent components: “1. an attitudinal
component and 2. a normative component (subjective norm). The attitudinal
component reflects the favorableness of people’s evaluation of the behavior,
whereas the subjective norm refers to people’s perception of the extent to
which others who are important to them think that they should perform the
behavior”(D. J. Terry et al., p 226).
The theory of planned behavior is interconnected with the notion of self-
identity. Theoretically, it links behavioral intentions and self-identity on the
ground of the identity theory, which considers the concept of “self” as a part
of the social construct. The “self” is perceived as a set of identities that
replicates the function that an individual executes in the socially constructed
world. As it was mentioned in the literature, the “central to identity theory is
the view that to understand action – or in more psychological terms, to
understand and predict behavior - it is necessary to conceive of the self and
the wider social structure as being inextricably linked.” (D. J. Terry et al., p
226)
Therefore, I implicitly used the identity theory, which provided the reason to
include the self-identity, in my research, as a predictor of Swedish tourists’
intentions to book sustainable travel packages. Meanwhile, both the theories
17
of planned behavior and reasoned action are considered intention as the most
pivotal predictor of behavior.
The central idea of this research was also to analyze social identity and self-
identity, which was also very challenging. “According to social identity
theory, an important component of the self-concept is derived from
memberships in social groups and categories. When people define and
evaluate themselves in terms of a self-inclusion social category.” (D. J.
Terry, et al., p 227). In my case, I used the self-concept of Swedish tourists
or Swedish residents.
The more important for my research study was the notion of self-
enhancement because it represents the self-concept in terms of group
membership, including perceptually and behaviorally, favor the in-group
over out-groups. Social identity plays a pivotal role, which represents a
group prototype that describes attitudes, behaviors, and feelings minimizing
in-group differences and maximizing intergroup differences.
In addition, the self-concept is the major influencing factor. In this research,
I mainly focused on the concept of the ideal self, i.e., on how the individual
would like to be seen by others, and on the concept of the social self, i.e., on
how the individual thinks other people, within the group, see her/him.
The overall notion the self- concept is the mind-set an individual has towards
herself/himself; it was used to reflect attitudes towards sustainable oneself
and sustainable consumption.
Meanwhile, in my opinion, it is important to mention that there were and
will always be discrepancies in behavior within the in-group and that
sustainable services and products offer to the in-group can satisfy and not
18
satisfy the in-group needs. Additionally, in our society prevail hedonic
motives, i.e., more need for fun and emotional satisfaction, which plays a
significant role in purchasing travel packages, but we should not exclude
utilitarian motives, i.e., products’ function and rational needs. Emotional and
rational motives are very pivotal in predicting consumers’ behavior. Tourists
are motivated to book travel packages for different reasons.
Emotions are another strong sub-factor, quite uncontrolled feelings that
impact on consumers’ decision making processes. Brands, services, and
products that can generate positive emotions frequently increase consumers’
satisfaction as well as create loyalty (Hawkins & Mothersbaugh, 2013).
2.4 Swedish tourists’ intention analysis
In order to conceive sustainable booking preferences, the behavior gap and
intention have to be clarified. In recent years sustainable consumption has
been prevalent. Although people claim that they are concern about
sustainability, we can observe discrepancies between consumers’/tourists’
intention to book sustainable packages and their actual behavior/bookings.
This research study articulates and displays significant dissonance when
tourists’/ consumers’ intentions contradict with their principal sustainability/
ethical concerns. Consumers with pro-environmental and social approaches
have their own motives for choosing sustainable products and services vs.
other unsustainable ones, and this reveals interrelated factors, which have an
impact on the ethical intention-behavior gap (Carrington, Neville &
Whitwell, 2014).
It is not possible to assume that behavior and intentions are the equivalents
and ignore research studies that buying/booking/using intentions do not
reflect actual buying/booking behavior. As it has been mentioned before,
19
external and internal factors impact on genuine purchase decision habits,
which mean that consumers’ intentions are not continuously as ones seem
(Carrington, Neville & Whitwell, 2014). Moreover, it takes a lot of time to
embrace ethical or sustainability concerns into daily routines and transform
people’s habits. The above-mentioned factors and sustainability knowledge
in the tourism industry should be aligned to make the tourists’ ethical
behavior a reality.
Firstly in the planning procedure, the information has to be defined and
understood, and the plan should be formed, and it should be continual to
make it a routine or habit (Carrington, Neville & Whitwell, 2014). When
purchases or bookings of products and services are not ethically/ sustainably
planned and turned into habits, then there occur some compromises and
unsustainable/unethical bookings/purchases. Also, breaching old behavioral
habits is not as easy as it seems.
However, the process of the formation of sustainable mind-sets within
sustainable tourism booking habits cannot have an effortless progression.
Behavioral habits have to be reshaped and re-made to built-up or transform
ones into a sustainable habit, which will make consumers more
ethically/sustainably consistent in their booking or purchasing practices
(Carrington, Neville & Whitwell, 2014).
In sum, making information about sustainability accessible and available to
tourists or consumers cannot or will not make consumers or tourists purchase
or booking habits more ethical or unsustainable. However, in combination
with the notions of social identity and self-identity, it can make the
difference. There is a lot of information about sustainability available on the
Internet; however, consumers/tourists have to understand the need and to be
responsible.
20
Companies and consumers should be responsible when marketing and
buying ethical/sustainable products and services, the marketing should be
transparent, and the consumers should make ethical/sustainable purchasing
decisions. As Carrington, Neville & Whitwell (2014) pointed out; consumers
must progressively become more sustainable and ethical as well as start
planning their purchases and transform it into a lifestyle to make their
intentions meet their behaviors. Now in the tourism industry, emotional
appealing plays a more critical role than the rational, and that brings us to the
conclusion that sustainable products and services should increase emotional
triggers to ignite consumers act more sustainably or ethically.
21
3. METHODOLOGY
This part of the research proposal describes methods that helped me to
collect pivotal data, define deviations, and elaborate nomothetic causal
relations. To conceptualize respondents’ attitudes and behavior towards
sustainability e-marketing, it was required to perceive the rationale behind
their raised environmental concerns. To scrutinize the results for a
quantitative research method, a post-positivist metatheoretical stance, and
deductive analysis with a cross-sectional design were used to show cause
and effect relationships between variables.
3.1 Method
To get a deep insight into the research topic and address the research
question, I collected statistical data of 114 respondents. The survey was
advertised via Facebook, and it was translated into the Swedish language to
exclude non-Swedish speaking respondents. The survey wasposted in the
following social media groups on Facebook: “Resa till Thailand,” “Vi som
älskar resor,” “Resetips,” “Sista minuten resor,” “Resor&Visioner,” “Resa i
Sverige,” “Vi som gillar att resa,” and “Att resa ensam.”
The results were computed via SPSS and analyzed through Multiple Linear
Regression Analysis with the use of Pearson Correlation, Cronbach Alfa and
KMO (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin), and Rotated Component Matrix. The
significance of this research paper was based on the Pearson Correlation
coefficient analysis of empirical results, which helped to make conceptual
distinctions in order to address the fundamental research question.
The research has been designed to improve the degree of understanding of
sustainable e-marketing and to reveal how one is changing Swedish tourists’
22
behavior. As it has been mentioned above, the collected data has been
examined deductively and processed through a post-positivist paradigm, i.e.,
I collected empirical evidence of behavioral habits and attitudes of the
respondents and analyzed them in terms of internal and external perceptions
using the guiding open-ended questions.
3.2 Design
This research had a cross-sectional design that showed cause and effect
relationships between sustainability e-marketing and Swedish tourists'
intentions to choose sustainable travel packages, i.e., sustainable lifestyle
marketing and its role in the consumers' sustainable decision-making
processes.
Aim of the research
Due to some discrepancies between sustainability marketing and
tourists'/consumers' perception, trust, loyalty, and behavior; the researcher
aimed to revisit the theory of planned behavior, the signaling theory, and the
green gap as well as to complement ones with the multiple linear regression
analysis and a nomothetic approach to conceptualize the effectiveness of the
sustainability e-marketing strategy in Sweden and provide insights on
practical worthiness of incorporating sustainability e-marketing strategies to
influence tourists to purchase a sustainable travel package. The nomothetic
causal relationships reflect correlations between the companies' Sustainable
Marketing Strategy and customers' attitudes and behavior. The researcher
aimed to perceive how Swedish respondents make their choices based on
their sustainability preferences in tourism. The quantitative data can help
Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) and stakeholders in the
tourism industry to understand the significance of a holistic approach
23
towards sustainability and the pivotal role of triple bottom line models in
sustainable e-marketing.
3.3 Data Analysis
After collecting statistical data, it was translated into an Excel document and
processed with the SPSS system. First, the survey was created in English and
then translated into Swedish in order to exclude non-native Swedish
speakers. The use of the automated system for collecting and processing data
helped to minimize losses of statistical data and make it easy for respondents
to answer. To ensure that translation is adequate and understandable for
respondents, the survey was presented to the Swedish focus group in order to
collect feedback and comments. Moreover, the highly regarded professor
and my supervisor provided proofreading and editing of the final version of
the survey. Therefore, the above-mentioned procedure helped us to exclude
apprehension errors and ambiguity. After reading and scrutinizing the
empirical statistical data many times, I decided to scrutinize the data,
checking its coherency, and framing one according to its importance. The
analysis started with the SPSS Multiple Linear Regression Analysis, Pearson
Correlation, Cronbach alpha, KMO, and Bartlett's Test. The statistical
analysis was screened by relevant theories from the above-mentioned
theoretical framework. These were combined with strengthening the
outcome of the empirical/statistical data. The only purpose of including
general questions into the Multiple Linear Regression Analysis was to
increase the in-depth comprehension of how Swedish tourists perceived and
responded to sustainable e-marketing based on their pro-environmental
approaches and socio-cultural perceptions.
The moderator of the survey/researcher was benign inconspicuous because
respondents had zero interaction with the researcher and had a lot of time to
24
consider all questions from the survey, i.e., without the moderator's
comments or presence being interposed.
3.4 Quality Criteria
Discussing the quality criteria of a research study, validity, and reliability are
the pivotal evaluation methods. Reliability elucidates how research results
can be replicated using the equivalent measurement. Validity shows how the
research study is established and how the intended answers sound with the
theoretical stance (Creswell, 2014).
The bivariate analysis with Pearson correlation coefficients was used to
provide the analysis of several pairs of two variables in order to discover
whether or not these two variables were related. "Exploring relationships
between variables means searching for evidence that the variation in one
variable coincides with variation in another variable" (Bryman, 2012, p
339).
To prove the validity and reliability of the results, Pearson's r was used as a
method to test relationships between ratio/interval variables. "The chief
features of this method are as follows: the coefficient will almost certainly
lie between 0 (zero or no relationship between the two variables) and 1" "the
closer the coefficient is to 1, the stronger the relationship; the closer it is to 0,
the weaker the relationship,” moreover, the coefficient can be positive and/or
negative—this only indicates the direction of the observed relationship
(Bryman, 2012, p 342). The results can elucidate correlations between
variables, "while one variable increases, the other variable increases by the
same amount and that no other variable is related to either of them". (ibid)
In the Pearson correlation, the researcher only presented and interpreted the
25
strong and moderate-high correlations, which could have better addressed
the research question.
To prove the validity of the tests, the researcher also used Cronbach's Alpha,
KMO, and Bartlett's tests. Cronbach's Alpha was chosen to measure the
scale of reliability of 16 items (N16).
The sample group – Swedish tourists, have been chosen because they are
considered the second most pro-environmentally-oriented nation or the
second world's most sustainable country with a significant awareness about
sustainability, according to RobecoSAM's latest country Sustainability
Ranking (2020). This group (Swedish tourists) with the highest awareness
level in terms of sustainability was chosen to assess the broad spectrum of
deviations. It was determined by the researcher that if the second sustainable
citizens in the world were interviewed, it could be deduced that the
remaining countries were less sustainable (act) and less aware/informed
about sustainability.
The transferability criteria were used to ensure that this study got
reinforcement and enhancement from previous research studies.
Credibility is ensured by the fact that the research can be easily repeated and
results generally prove the hypothesis and conclusions of other research
studies, but this research more specific, and it was narrowed down to the
specific target group – Swedish tourists' intentions. The reader can draw
similar or the same conclusions as the researcher by connecting categories
and observations. The questions from the research questionnaire were
proofread and translated with the help of Swedish native speakers. The
professional help of the supervisor elevated the validity of this research.
The questionnaire was offered to complete online that eliminated any
impacts from the moderator or any other experimental manipulations on the
26
respondents. By collecting the interview data following these procedures,
reliability and credibility of the collected data and the final results were
increased. Having an extensively experienced supervisor with scientific
research skills helped the researcher to have a close eye on his research work
and to guarantee that results were credible and understandable. It was pivotal
to connect and process findings as well as to present the information in a
logical, coherent, and understandable way.
3.5 Research Ethics
Due to the fact that this research was conducted online, it minimized any
impacts on respondents. Nevertheless, it is worth to be mentioned that the
researcher abided by the ethical research norms as it was pointed out that:
"Researchers need to protect their …..research participants, develop a trust
with them; promote the integrity of research; guard against misconducts and
impropriety" (Creswell, 2014, p. 92). To ensure that this research study
follows a morally correct path, several pre adjustments, considerations, and
agreements were applied. When writing the theoretical framework,
appropriate referencing and quotations have been prioritized to elucidate
previous researchers' efforts and findings. The researcher diligently checked
all referencing authors, notes, quotes, dates, pages to eliminate any
suspicions of plagiarism.
Anonymity, confidentiality, and privacy were ample priorities during the
empirical/statistical collection processes (Bryman & Bell, 2015). All
participants were informed of these priorities and gave their consent by
filling in the questionnaire.
All information about data collection, the main purposes of this research, and
procedures of using private information were explained. Also, anonymity
27
and confidentiality were promised to the respondents by not using their
responses, names, emails, or relevant information to other purposes than to
this research study.
3.6 Reliability and validity
To check reliability, SPSS Multiple Linear Regression Analysis, Pearson
Correlation, Cronbach's alpha, KMO, and Bartlett's Test were computed and
analyzed. However, Cronbach's alpha is considered paramount in testing the
reliability and validity of composite sums.
Through multiple linear regression analysis, the researcher examined the
correlation posited in the research model. The regression analysis unveiled
positive correlations between sustainability e-marketing and Swedish
tourists' intentions to buy a sustainable travel package through multiple
correlation coefficients and significance values. The formula of the
regression analysis’ equation: Y= a + bX, a= Y-intercept; b= Regression
coefficient (slope of the line); Where: Y= dependent variable; tourists’
preferences/intentions; X= independent variable; sustainability e-marketing,
the level of trust, sustainability awareness, pro-environmental attitude, and
false-marketing (greenwashing) (several factors).
Thus, the dependent variable was Swedish tourists' intention to buy a
sustainable travel package vs. an unsustainable one, and independent
variables were all other variables associated with sustainability marketing/e-
marketing, levels of trust, and behaviors.
The Factor analysis ANOVA and bivariate Pearson's correlation were used
to identify underlying variables that explained correlations within a set of
examined variables. The Stepwise regression method was used to reduce the
28
number of predictive variables that helped to clarify variances observed in a
broader set of manifest variables. Factor analysis ANOVA was used to
screen examined variables to identify collinearity proceeding with the linear
regression analysis.
In Factor Analysis, I incorporated the rotated solution, i.e., the Rotated
Component Matrix, to estimate correlations between each variable and
estimated component. It submitted loading plots and eigenvalue. However,
the multiple linear regression analysis was the principal analysis to predict
the outcome of the revised variables.
These research tools helped to elucidate the pivotal role of Sustainability e-
marketing by assessing the perceived behavioral control, pro-environmental
behavior as subjective norms stipulated by social norms, and behavioral
attitudes, which examined Swedish tourists' preferences toward a sustainable
travel package.
29
4. RESULT & ANALYSIS
This chapter focuses on pivotal results and analysis that have been presented
and explained in three steps:
Step one was to provide general information, including descriptive statistics
and critical figures in subchapter 4.1. This information allows the reader to
understand the dispersion of all statistical data without providing statistical
correlations (interconnectedness) and the level of significance.
Step two was to define, examine, and extract statistical data, using the SPSS
Multiple Linear Regression Analysis, Pearson Moment-Product correlation,
Cronbach alpha, KMO, and Bartlett's Test, levels of significance, etc., of all
variables that entailed pivotal predictors, in subchapters 4.2 and 4.3. These
chapters provide pure statistical computation (correlations, significance,
validity, reliability, etc.) without interpretation of results.
Step three was to interpret the results and meld ones with deductive
reasoning or logical conclusions. This information gives the reader a chance
to embrace the importance and significance of the outcome of this research
work, in subchapter 4.4.
4.1 Descriptive statistics
In this research, I have used responses of 114 respondents, 108 or 95% of
them are from Sweden, and 6 or 5% of them are Swedish people, who are
living abroad (within the EU). The age groups are presented below (SD=1.6,
mean 4.22):
30
Table 1. Statistics by age groups
Frequenc
y Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid 18-24 5 4,4 4,4 4,4
25-34 18 15,8 15,8 20,2
35-44 14 12,3 12,3 32,5
45-54 21 18,4 18,4 50,9
55-64 27 23,7 23,7 74,6
65-74 24 21,1 21,1 95,6
75 or
older
5 4,4 4,4 100,0
Total 114 100,0 100,0
63 or 55% of respondents are men, and 50 or 44% of them are women, and
one respondent identified himself as belonging to another gender group.
65 or 57% of respondents never use travel agents when they are making their
vacation plans; while only 30 or 26% of respondents choose travel agents in
the ratio from 10 to 25 %. The remaining respondents use travel agents more
regularly, but the number is insignificant. (mean =2.06, SD=1.7)
To get a better understanding of our respondents’ decision-making
processes, they have been questioned about their travel companions and who
is a decision-maker in their trips. The following chart presents that 53 or
46% of respondents travel with his or her partner or spouse; 22 or 19% with
family members, while 26 or 23% of respondents are traveling alone. 12 or
11 % of respondents travel with their friends. (mean=2.20, SD=.942)
Descriptive of the dependent variable
Dependent variable: the Probability to choose a sustainable traveling
package vs. an unsustainable one. Mean 3.36, Std. Error 0.179, 95% C.I. for
31
mean: lower 3.28; upper 3.99, 5% Trimmed mean 3.59, Median 3.00,
Variance 3.651, SD 1.911, Min 1, Max 7, Range 6, Interquartile Range 3,
Skewness 0.232; 0.226 (Std. error), Kurtosis – 1.119, 0.449 (Std. error)
Figure 1. Whom do Swedish tourists travel with?
This column chart shows who is usually accompany our respondents in their
travel tours.
90 or 79% of respondents see themselves are decision-makers, while 24 or
21% of respondents have admitted that they are usually not decision-makers,
but rather followers whenever they are traveling somewhere.
Figure 2. Important factors that impact on Swedish tourists’ decisions to choose
32
charter trips.
This figure shows that Swedish tourists, who are choosing charter trips,
mainly care about security and sustainability, i.e., 71% of respondents
consider – security as quite important, and 54% of respondents consider –
sustainability as quite important.
Surprisingly, the popularity of destination was considered as the least
important or not important at all. It can be associated with the phenomena of
overtourismimpacting on the popularity of destinations.
The significance level for each of the above-mentioned factors has been
computed in the multiple linear regression analysis and the Stepwise
regression method presented below.
Figure 3. Pro-environmental attitudes. The level of Swedish tourists’ concern about
global warming and climate change.
This figure shows that 51% of respondents’ pro-environmental attitudes and
levels of concern are quite high or very high, whereas only 19% of
respondents’ level of anxiety is moderate.
33
Table 2. Descriptive Statistics
Mean
Std.
Deviation N
V11 – Probability of choosing a sustainable traveling
package vs. an unsustainable one
3,63 1,911 114
V8 – Concern about global warming and climate
change
3,27 1,428 114
V9d – Sustainability - Important factor, which have an
impact on your decision to choose a charter trip
4,48 1,961 114
V12 – The level of trust towards eco-labeled travel
agencies and their e-marketing
3,25 1,508 114
V15 – Sustainable marketing - impact 3,68 1,948 114
V6 – Often choose sustainable (Ecological) travel
tours
3,04 1,836 114
V9a – Popularity of destination - Important factor,
which has an impact on your decision to choose a
charter trip.
3,08 1,882 114
V9b – Travel time - Important factor, which has an
impact on your decision to choose a charter trip.
3,75 1,922 114
V9c – Security - Important factor, which has an
impact on your decision to choose a charter trip.
5,25 1,837 114
V10 – Readiness to pay more for sustainability in % 3,34 1,723 114
V14 – Sustainability certification increase your
willingness to choose sustainable products and
services
4,03 2,006 114
V16a – Level of Trust – sustainability certification
issued by - University/researchers
4,70 1,909 114
V16b – Level of Trust – sustainability certification
issued by - Global Tourism Organizations
3,22 1,544 114
V16c – Level of Trust – Charter companies’ internal
certification
2,69 1,575 114
34
V16d – Level of Trust – sustainability certification
issued by - Independent environmental organizations
4,25 2,017 114
Figure 4. Readiness to pay more for sustainability in %
These figures show that the factor such as the perceived behavioral control
in the theory of planned behavior associated with the readiness to pay more
for sustainability in percentages does not contribute to the theory, but this
factor shows the high significance level in the correlation matrix, which has
been analyzed in Chapters 4.2 and 4.3.
4.2 Significance tests
To approach to what degree Swedish citizens are more prone to choose
sustainable travel packages, ANOVA was used to compare means of the
dependent variable – V11 “probability to choose a sustainable traveling
package instead of an unsustainable one” with V6 – Often choose
35
sustainable (Ecological) travel tours, V8 – Concern about global warming
and climate change, V9a – Popularity of destination,V9b – Travel time,V9c
– Security,V9d – Sustainability, V10 – Readiness to pay more for
sustainability in %, V12 – The level of trust towards eco-labeled travel
agencies and their e-marketing, V14 – Sustainability certification increase
your willingness to choose sustainable products and services, V15 –
Sustainable marketing - impact, V16a – Level of Trust – sustainability
certification issued by - University/researchers,V16b – Level of Trust –
sustainability certification issued by - Global Tourism Organizations,V16c –
Level of Trust – Charter companies’ internal certification, and V16d – Level
of Trust – sustainability certification issued by - Independent environmental
organizations.
Table 3. ANOVAa – analysis of variances, in Multiple Linear Regression Analysis
Model: 5
Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.
Regressio
n
296,407 5 59,281 55,136 ,000f
Residual 116,119 108 1,075
Total 412,526 113
a. Dependent Variable (DV): Probability to choose a sustainable traveling package
vs. an unsustainable one
f. Predictors: (Constant), Readiness to pay more for sustainability in % (V10),
Sustainability - Important factor that has an impact on your decision to choose a
charter trip (V9d), Level of Trust – sustainability certification issued by -
Independent environmental organizations (V16d), Often choose sustainable
(Ecological) travel tours (V6), Travel time - Important factor, which has an impact
on your decision to choose a charter trip(V9b).
According to ANOVA in Multiple Linear Regression Analysis, there was a
significant effect of V10 – "Readiness to pay more for sustainability in %,"
36
V9d – "Sustainability - Important factor, which has an impact on your
decision to choose a charter trip," V16d – "Level of Trust – sustainability
certification issued by - Independent environmental organizations," V6 –
"Often choose sustainable (Ecological) travel tours," and V9b – "Travel time
- Important factor, which has an impact on your decision to choose a charter
trip" on the Dependent variable or V11 – "Probability to choose a sustainable
traveling package vs. an unsustainable one" at the p<.05 for the five
conditions [F (5, 108) = 55,136, p =0.000].
Also, I used the Leven's test, which revealed that the p-value or significance
was associated with V8 – "people's concerns about climate change" p=0.809
or for the Sig. 2-tailed 0.013, it has shown that people's concern about
climate change has an impact on their intention to book sustainable travel
packages. However, Leven's test was used more to analyze the equality of
variances and not to analyze correlations.
The histogram and the normal P-P plot of standardized residuals indicated
that the data normally distributed, which showed that points were scattered
almost along the line—the confidence interval associated with the regression
analysis and a p-value help to reject the null hypothesis. The p-value is, in
my case, the evidence against the null hypothesis. The p-value p<.05, it
means that the null hypothesis is rejected. Therefore, correlations between
variables are more significant as well as ("significant") these results.
4.3 Pearson correlation
Strong Correlation
The Pearson product-moment correlation was conducted to examine
Swedish tourists’ intention to choose a sustainable travel package. The
37
Pearson correlation unveiled a strong correlation (r=0.719, p<=0.01, n=114)
between V10 – “Readiness to pay more for sustainability in %”(M=3.34,
SD=1.723) and V11 – “Probability to choose a sustainable traveling package
vs. an unsustainable one” (M=3.63, SD=1.911), which means that the
stronger Swedish tourists’ readiness to pay more for sustainability, the
higher probability to choose a sustainable traveling package.
V14 – “Sustainability certification increase your willingness to choose
sustainable products and services”(M=4.03, SD=2.006) and V15 – “Do you
think sustainable marketing has a significant impact on your choice?”
(M=3.68, SD=1.948), the Pearson’s r revealed a strong correlation (r=0.736,
p<=0.01, n=114), which means that the more people in Sweden trust to the
sustainable certification, the higher the role of sustainable marketing.
Moderate (high) correlation
Pearson’s r data analysis revealed moderate correlations between V6 –
“Often choose sustainable (Ecological) travel tours” (M=3.04, SD=1.836)
and V11 – “Probability to choose a sustainable traveling package vs. an
unsustainable one” (M=3.63, SD=1.911), where r=0.630, p<=0.01, n=114,
which means that the more often Swedish tourists choose sustainable travel
tours, the higher probability that they book sustainable travel packages.
V8 – “Concern about global warming and climate change” (M=3.27,
SD=1.428) and V16d – “Level of Trust – sustainability certification issued
by - Independent environmental organizations” (M=4.25, SD=2.017), where
the Pearson’s r=0.615, p<=0.01, n=114, which means that the more Swedish
people concern about global warming and climate change, the higher their
level of trust towards a sustainable certification issued by the Independent
environmental organizations.
38
V9d – “Sustainability - Important factor, which has an impact on your
decision to choose a charter trip” (M=4.48, SD=1.961) and V11 –
“Probability to choose a sustainable traveling package vs. an unsustainable
one” (M=3.63, SD=1.911), where r=0.624, p<=0.01, n=114, which means
that the more people care about sustainability, the higher probability that
they choose sustainable traveling packages/travel tours.
V11 – “Probability to choose a sustainable traveling package vs. an
unsustainable one” (M=3.63, SD=1.911) and V14 – “Sustainability
certification increase your willingness to choose sustainable products and
services”(M=4.03, SD=2.006), where the Pearson’s r=587, p<=0.01, n=114,
which means that if the probability of choosing a sustainable traveling
package raises, the impact of the sustainability certification on Swedish
tourists’ willingness to choose sustainable products and services will also
increase.
V16b – “Level of Trust – sustainability certification issued by - Global
Tourism Organizations” (M=3.22, SD=1.544) and “V16c – Level of Trust –
Charter companies’ internal certification”(M=2.69, SD=1.575), where the
Pearson’s r=0.679, p<=0.01, n=114, which means that if Swedish tourists’
level of trust towards sustainability certification issued by the Global
Tourism Organizations increases, Swedish tourists’ level of trust towards
Charter companies’ internal certification will also increase.
In the Pearson Product-Moment correlation, the researcher only presented
and interpreted the strong and moderate-high correlations, which addressed
the research question.
To prove the validity of the tests, the researcher also used Cronbach’s Alpha,
39
KMO, and Bartlett’s tests. Cronbach’s Alpha was chosen to measure the
scale of reliability of 16 items (N16), this test unveiled good consistency =
0.873, and Cronbach's Alpha Based on Standardized Items = 0.870; it
proves the reliability of items.
The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) was used to measure sampling adequacy on
the scale from 0 to 1, where the value 0.6 considered as a minimum
(KMO=0.822). The Bartlett's test of sphericity was used to test for the null
hypothesis or whether the correlation matrix has the identity matrix.
Table 4. Multiple Linear Regression Analysis
Coefficientsa
Model: 5
t p
95,0% Confidence
Interval for B
B SE B β
Lower
Bound
Upper
Bound
V10 - Readiness to
pay more for
sustainability in %
,481 ,070 ,434 6,868 ,000 ,342 ,619
V9d –
Sustainability -
Important factor,
which has an
impact on your
decision to choose
a charter trip
,290 ,060 ,297 4,805 ,000 ,170 ,409
40
This table presents five more significant coefficients according to the
multiple linear regression analysis.
The unstandardized beta (B) in the above-mentioned table represents the
slope (line) between the dependent and the predictor variables. So, for
Variable 10 (V10), this would mean that for every one-unit increase in V10,
the dependent variable increases by 0.481 units. Also, similarly, for
Variables V9d and V16d, for every one-unit increase in Variables V9d and
V16d, the dependent variable increases by 0.290 and 0.219 units.
Controlling for V10 (readiness to pay for sustainability…. more in %) and
V16d – Level of
Trust –
sustainability
certification issued
by - Independent
environmental
organizations
,219 ,053 ,231 4,159 ,000 ,115 ,323
V6 – Often choose
sustainable
(Ecological) travel
tours
,173 ,069 ,166 2,495 ,014 ,035 ,310
V9b –Travel time -
Important factor,
which has an
impact on your
decision to choose
a charter trip.
-,105 ,052 -,105 -2,029 ,045 -,207 -,002
a. Dependent Variable: Probability of choosing a sustainable traveling package
vs. an unsustainable one
b. Unstandardized beta (B), Std. error – unstandardized beta (SE B), Standardized
beta (β), the t test statistic (t), significance and probability value (p).
41
V9d (sustainability), the regression coefficient (model 5, B=0.481, 95% C.I.
(0.342, 0.619) p<.05) and (model 5, B=0.290, 95% C.I. (0.170, 0.409)
p<.05) accordingly.
For instance, the standardized coefficient beta analysis revealed the level of
significance (p<0.05) for V10, which means that DV – “probability to
choose sustainable travel packages vs. unsustainable” correlates with V10 –
“the readiness to pay more for sustainability,” i.e., the more people ready to
pay for sustainability in %, the more likely that they choose sustainable
travel packages vs. unsustainable ones.
The V9d showed that the more people concern about sustainability, the more
they choose sustainable travel tours. V16d – “Level of Trust – sustainability
certification issued by - Independent environmental organizations” has
defined as a significant variable, which indicates that V16d plays a pivotal
role in people’s decision to choose a sustainable travel package vs. an
unsustainable one if it correlates with other four variables as well.
V6 – Often choose sustainable (Ecological) travel tours shows that if
individuals often choose sustainable travel, there is a high probability that
they choose it again with B=0.173 times higher, the result is quite significant
p=0.014. However, V9b –“Travel time - Important factor, which has an
impact on your decision to choose a charter trip” states that if the travel time
increases, it will decrease the probability of choosing sustainable travel
packages B=-0.105, p=0.045.
In this multiple linear regression analysis, the Dependent Variable:
“Probability to choose a sustainable traveling package vs. an unsustainable
one” was correlated with three or more independent variables, as it was
shown in Table 4 and Table 5.
42
Table 5. Multiple linear regression analysis summary
Model: 5
R
R
Square
Adjuste
d R
Square
Std.
Error of
the
Estimate
Change Statistics
Durbin
-
Watso
n
R
Square
Change
F
Change df1 df2
Sig.
F
Chan
ge
,848e ,719 ,705 1,037 ,011 4,115 1 108 ,045 1,618
e. Predictors: (Constant), Readiness to pay more for sustainability in % (V10),
Sustainability - Important factor that has an impact on your decision to choose a
charter trip (V9d), Level of Trust – sustainability certification issued by -
Independent environmental organizations (V16d), Often choose sustainable
(Ecological) travel tours (V6), Travel time - Important factor, which has an impact
on your decision to choose a charter trip (V9b).
f. Dependent Variable: Probability to choose a sustainable traveling package vs. an
unsustainable one
*R represents the correlation coefficient among three or more independent variables
(as it is a multiple linear regression analysis) and the observed values of outcome
variables.
The R2 value of 0.719 associated with this regression model suggests that
the V10 accounts for 71.9 % of the variation in the dependent variable,
which means that only 28.1% of the variation cannot be explained by V10
alone.
Table 6. KMO and Bartlett's Test, statistical indicators of variances
KMO and Bartlett's Test
Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy.
,822
43
Bartlett's Test of Sphericity Approx. Chi-Square 474,784
df 66
Sig. ,000
This table shows KMO and Bartlett's Test, these two tests that unveil the
suitability of my data for the structure detection. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin
Measure of Sampling Adequacy was used to statistically indicate the
proportion of variances in my variables that caused by principal factors. The
high value of 0.822 indicates that my factor analysis is useful with my data.
If the value were less than 0.5, the results would not be very useful.
Figure 5. Level of Trust – towards sustainability certifications.
It is quite interesting to see that the level of trust towards a sustainability
certification issued by the University/ researchers has been considered as
trustful by 56% of respondents, in the interval 75% to 100% trust scale. The
independent environmental organizations got 52% of trust from our
participants (75-100% trust scale). It means that the level of trust would be
higher if certifications were issued by the organizations or institutions, which
44
are less involved in the tourism industry, i.e., independent organizations or
institutions.
I used Bartlett's test of sphericity to test my research question (hypothesis)
that my correlation matrix is the identity matrix, which showed that my
variables were related, and therefore suitable. The significance level shows a
small value that indicates that my factor analysis was useful with my data. I
also used the eigenvalue of a graph with its adjacency matrix. It shows that
the eigenvalue of the absolute value in the graph or factors.
4.4 Analysis Results
In this research study, multiple linear regression analyses were executed to
examine and test the hypothesized relationships among variables. As Model
5 in Table 6 reveals, V10 – “Readiness to pay more for sustainability in %”
has a positive and direct impact on the probability of choosing a sustainable
traveling package vs. an unsustainable one (β = 0.434, p < 0.000). Thus,
research question RQ1 was empirically supported. As Model 5 in Table 6
indicates, V16d – Level of Trust – “sustainability certification issued by -
Independent environmental organizations” has a positive influence on the
probability to choose a sustainable traveling package vs. an unsustainable
one (β = 0.297, p < 0.000), and it was still significant. RQ1 has predicted
that customers or Swedish tourists are ready to choose and pay more for
sustainable travel packages vs. unsustainable ones; even if they have to pay
more, but it was stipulated by the sustainability factor, which supposed to be
high, and the destination supposed to be certified by the independent
environmental organizations.
Moreover, tourists who regularly choose sustainable travel tours increase the
probability. Travel time on the opposite has a negative effect on (probability)
45
Swedish tourists’ intention to choose sustainable travel packages vs.
unsustainable ones. The bivariate Stepwise regression analysis results
provided evidence supporting research questions RQ2 and RQ3. It has
shown direct positive correlates between V14 – “Sustainability certification
increase your willingness to choose sustainable products and
services”(M=4.03, SD=2.006) and V15 – “Sustainable marketing has a
significant impact on your choice” (M=3.68, SD=1.948), with the Pearson’s
r=0.736, p<=0.01, n=114, which means that the Swedish tourists’ level of
trust elevates significantly, if the relationship between the sustainable
certification and sustainable marketing are high.
46
5. DISCUSSION
This section discusses what has been presented in the above-mentioned
result section and theoretical framework section to address the research
questions. The researcher provides inferential and descriptive data analysis
of the research findings as well as critical data summaries. The analysis in
this research integrates both methodology /theoretical and quantitative
approaches.
Attitude-behavior gap or "Green gap"
In this research study, the main research question was whether or not
Swedish tourists choose sustainable travel packages vs. unsustainable ones,
and the assumption was that the pro-environmental approach triggers or
creates preexisting conditions for making sustainable choices. Though, the
results proved the hypothesis; there were still few discrepancies associated
with the so-called “greenwashing” as it was mentioned by Peattie and Crane
(2005) and as it was stated that it undermined the credibility of sustainable
marketing and alienated consumers from purchasing sustainable products
and services (Valerie L. Vaccaro, 2009). In other words, the mediation
model telling us that Swedish tourists’ loyalty depends on the relationship
between Sustainable (e-) marketing strategy (SMS) and the level of trust.
This research results revealed positive links between sustainable marketing
and the tourists’ level of trust, which coincided with the outcome of the
research study conducted by Testa, F. Iraldo, A Vaccari, E. Ferrari (2013).
This also means that the Sustainable marketing strategy is beneficial to the
advancement of companies’ performance. Nowadays, more and more
companies are developing their strong orientation towards sustainability.
“Customer attitudes and behaviors toward sustainability marketing practices
47
are important for the enhancement of firm performance” (T. Eerdun et al.,
2018, p 1046).
In conclusion, it is possible to assume that Swedish tourists’ intention to
choose sustainable charter trips in general positive and can be stipulated by
high sustainability awareness and pro-environmental attitudes; however, the
results can be distorted by the combination of external and internal factors.
Tourists with pro-environmental and social approaches have their motives
for choosing sustainable products and services vs. other unsustainable ones,
and this reveals interrelated factors, which have an impact on the ethical
intention-behavior gap (Carrington, Neville & Whitwell, 2014). The pivotal
role in terms of pro-environmental attitudes was associated with the notion
of self-enhancement because it represented the self-concept in terms of
interconnectedness with the social identity that played a crucial role in
reflecting attitudes, behaviors, and feelings minimizing in-group differences.
Theory of planned behavior
The multiple linear regression analysis has revealed high sustainability
awareness and pro-environmental attitudes, which correspond with two main
factors of the theory of planed behavior, namely, – behavioral attitudes and
subjective norms, regarding social identity, self-identity, and group norms of
all respondents Ajzen (1991). In other words, Swedish tourists share, more
or less, the same thoughts and feelings towards sustainable travel packages/
charter trips and social norms towards sustainability. The factor as perceived
behavioral control was associated with the Swedish readiness to pay more
for sustainable services and products.
These three factors (behavioral attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived
behavioral control) were supposed to be good predictors of a person’s
48
intention or, in our case, Swedish tourists’ intentions to choose a sustainable
travel package, according to Ajzen (1991). “…behavior can best be
predicted from a person’s intention, or willingness, to perform the behavior”
(Deborah J. Terry et al., p 225).
M. Spence’s signaling theory
The outcome of this research is very interesting for two reasons. First, it
illustrates how information asymmetry distorts tourists’ perception of the
sustainable services and products as well as sustainability per se; second, it
shows that the separating components (factors) in the equilibrium were
usedto maximize revenues by issuing the signal. The outcome of this thesis
has discovered high sustainability awareness and pro-environmental attitudes
as well as a high level of trust towards independent environmental
organizations. It means that the factor of readiness to pay for sustainability
products and services was the only factor that aberrated Swedish tourists’
intention-behavior relations.
In other words, it is possible to process the outcome of this research through
deductive reasoning to define that the Swedish tourists see sustainable
tourism as an expensive way of traveling. Meanwhile, they do not associate
independent environmental certifications as something that adds extra costs
to the sustainable packages. The signaling theory can explain the
ineffectiveness of the e-marketing strategy as both tourists and companies in
the tourism industry experience “information asymmetry,” which was
initially created as the regular marketing strategy. For example, as it was
mentioned by M. Spence: “for prices that are posted in an Internet
environment, the cost of finding the lowest price is pretty close to zero. In
principle, this should eliminate price dispersion by eliminating one side of
the trade-off. There was a kind of natural partial protection from price
49
competition, the magnitude of which is a function of the search costs.” (M.
Spence, 2002, p. 455)
In conclusion, sustainability was, in my opinion, the way or means to
minimize excessive use of recourses, i.e., to use resources more retinal
"without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own
needs" (Brundtland& Khalid, 1987 p. 29).
Hence, talking about sustainability products and services, it is worth pointing
out that unsustainable tourism is a big issue that requires transformation, not
just technology, but the transformation in the perception of unsustainable
tourism. Sustainable tourism should be positioned as a means that minimize
costs in the long-term perspectives.
However, according to the results of this research study, the main problem
that impedes the development of the sustainable tourism and diminishes
effects of sustainable marketing/ e-marketing is and was the perception of
sustainable products and services as luxury and expensive. Swedish tourists
are concerned about climate change, they have a high level of trust, but they
are not ready to pay more for sustainable charter tours.
Nowadays, it seems that sustainability e-marketing cannot produce positive
emotions that can enhance or boost Swedish tourists' intentions to book or
choose sustainable charter tours. Meanwhile, it is also required to consider
brands, services, and products as generators of positive emotions, which
increase consumers' satisfaction as well as create loyalty (Hawkins
&Mothersbaugh, 2013).
50
6. CONCLUSION
This section presents the conclusion and the significant findings of this thesis
research work and its summary. It also discusses propositions and minor
implications for future research work.
This study was to explore sustainable e-marketing and its influence on
Swedish tourists' intentions to choose sustainable travel packages. The
empirical/statistical data consisted of 114 Swedish respondents, and the
analysis was based on respondents' own personal attitudes, thoughts, and
perceptions. When the multiple linear regression analysis with Pearson
correlation coefficients, Pearson's r, ANOVA, Cronbach's Alpha, KMO, and
Bartlett's tests were executed, the extracted results revealed the relationship
between the purpose and research questions, which can be concluded as
follows: it is possible to conclude that Swedish tourist' intentions to choose
sustainable charter trips in general positive only if it correlates with high
sustainability awareness and pro-environmental attitudes, maximum low
sustainability fees, and the destination should be certified by the independent
environmental organization, as well as these factors should be reflected in
the e-marketing strategy.
The multiple linear regression analysis showed strong correlations between
variables associated with Swedish tourists’ readiness to pay more for
sustainability in percentages and the probability of choosing sustainable
travel packages vs. unsustainable ones. On the other hand, statistical analysis
for Swedish tourists’ readiness to pay more for sustainability showed
negative results (Figure 4). It means that according to the theory of planned
behavior of I. Ajzen (1991), Swedish tourists’ are not prone to pay more or
choose sustainable travel packages/ charter trips. This research work also
addressed research questions 2 and 3 by providing empirical evidence for the
51
signaling theory of M. Spence, i.e., it is possible to deduce that the
information asymmetry was caused by sustainable marketing/ e-marketing.
Moreover, the sustainable marketing strategy has alienated Swedish tourists
creating the intention-behavior gap.
In terms of the charter trips, Swedish tourists' intention elucidated that the
socio-economic status of consumers and the above-mentioned factors (Table
4) had an impact on their sustainable behaviors, i.e., for this group of
tourists, sustainability perceived as a quite expensive choice. It has been
defined through collected statistics that participants think that sustainable
tourism is costly and unaffordable. On the other hand, the low cost of
sustainable services and products, together with the other key factors
mentioned in chapter 4, can maximize revenue and elevate Swedish tourists'
intention to choose sustainable travel packages and charter trips.
Therefore, the solution is to execute marketing and e-marketing project
campaigns, focusing on cheap and affordable solutions within the tourism
industry. This strategy will meet customers or tourists' requirements and
create positive emotions and satisfaction as well as loyalty.
6.1 Managerial Implication
This research can help companies to revise their sustainability marketing and
e-marketing strategies and incorporate a holistic approach to sustainable
development into their companies' policies and ethos. It can also help to
understand their consumers in terms of their intentions and needs. This
research also helps to understand the role of security, sustainability,
certification, and travel time, as well as the level of trust towards
organizations, companies, and it also helps to assess Swedish tourists'
readiness to pay more for sustainable travel tours in parentages.
52
Stakeholders in the tourism industry should be aware that sustainability can
increase their revenues. As well as companies involved in sustainability
certification can realize the tourists' perception and level of trust towards
sustainable certifications and Eco-labeling. Instead, consumers should
associate sustainability as the quality level of products and services and less
as the additional cost. As a result, the awareness and information of
sustainability within the tourism industry, according to the tourists'
perception of sustainability is limited.
Notable, however, is that Swedish tourists are interested in sustainable
tourism and sustainability; and to some extent, they are conscious about it,
but in relation to other factors. The tourism industry should be more
sustainable in terms of products and services. This research paper supports
sustainable development in the tourism industry, and it can be used as
pivotal evidence of the effectiveness of using sustainability marketing and e-
marketing to promote sustainable charter trip services and products. This
research proves the efficiency of sustainable marketing and its influence on
Swedish tourists' intention to choose sustainable travel packages, but several
factors stipulate efficiency. This research helps to understand Swedish
consumers and their intentions towards sustainable marketing, products, and
services. It also shows Swedish tourists' concerns and level of trust towards
sustainable certifications and organizations involved in this business.
6.2 Future Research
There are a lot of research studies left on these topics analyzed and discussed
due to the fact that Swedish tourists’ intentions and decision making-
processes in relationship with the e-marketing strategies are still in the early
stage of development. Many different ideas, thoughts, and issues have come
up in the process of writing and finalizing this thesis.
53
The first and the main suggestion for the future researchers would be to
revisit and include more external and internal factors, although as qualitative
research. Another critical suggestion for the future researchers would be to
do this research from companies’ perspectives, or a university/ researchers’
perspectives, including thoughts and ideas on commercialization or
involvement of the University into the tourism certification business.
Additionally, the mouse-tracking experimental research method could be
interesting to try to collect statistical information and compare it with the
results from surveys.
54
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59
APPENDIX 1
General questions
1. Are you a Swedish resident?
Yes No
2. What is your age?
18-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65-74
75 or older
3. What is your gender?
Male Female Other
4. How often do you use a travel agent when making vacation plans?
Never 0% 10% 25%50% 75% 85% 100% Always
5. How do you usually travel?
alone
with partner/spouse
with family
with friends
with colleagues
with business partners
organizedgrouptravel
60
6. On average, how often do you choose sustainable (Ecological) travel
tours?
Never 0% 10% 25%50% 75% 85% 100% Always
7. If you are traveling with somebody, who is usually a decision-maker
and how is a follower?
Me – decision-maker / my companion – follower
Me – follower/ my companion – decision-maker
8. Are you concerned about global warming and climate change?
0% - Not at all
25%
50%
75%
100% - Very concerned
Main questions
9. How important would you rank the following factors when you
decide where to go on a charter trip?”
Popularity of destination
Not important 12 3 4 5 6 7 Very important
Travel time
Not important 12 3 4 5 6 7 Very important
Security
Not important 12 3 4 5 6 7 Very important
61
Sustainability
Not important 12 3 4 5 6 7 Very important
10. Are you ready to pay more for sustainable products and services?
“I’m prepared to pay …..% more”
0% 10% 25% 50% 75% 85% 100%
11. What is the probability that you choose a sustainable traveling
package instead of an unsustainable one?
0% 10% 25% 50% 75% 85% 100%
12. What is the level of your trust towards eco-labeled travel agencies
and their e-marketing?
No trust 0% 10%25% 50% 75%85% 100% High trust
13. If you don’t choose sustainable charter tours when you are traveling,
is it because you don’t trust these eco-labels and companies that
certify these services as sustainable?
Yes No
14. Would a sustainability certification increase your willingness to
choose these products and services?
0% - Not at all
10% -Very unlikely
25% - Unlikely
50% - Neither likely nor unlikely
75% - Likely
85% - Very likely
100% - Absolutely
62
15. Do you think sustainable marketing has a significant impact on your
choice?
0% - Strongly disagree
10% -disagree
25% - Somewhat disagree
50% - Neither agree nor disagree
75% - Somewhat agree
85% - Agree
100% - Strongly agree
16. To what extent would you trust a sustainability certification from the
following:
University/researchers
No trust 0% 10% 25% 50% 75% 85% 100% High trust
Global Tourism Organizations
No trust 0% 10% 25% 50% 75% 85% 100% High trust
Charter companies’ internal certification
No trust 0% 10% 25% 50% 75% 85% 100% High trust
Independent Environmental organizations
No trust 0% 10% 25% 50% 75% 85% 100% High trust
63
APPENDIX 2
Generella frågor
1. Är du bosatt i Sverige?
Ja Nej
2. Vadär din ålder?
18-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-64
65-74
75 elleräldre
3. Vad är ditt kön?
Manlig kvinnlig annat
4. Hur ofta anlitar du en resebyrå för dina semesterplaner?
Aldrig 0% 10% 25%50% 75% 85% 100% Alltid
5. Hur reser du vanligtvis?
ensam
med partner / make / maka
med familj
med vänner
med kollegor
med affärspartners
organiseradegruppresor
64
6. Hur ofta väljer du i genomsnitt hållbara (ekologiska) resor?
Aldrig 0% 10% 25%50% 75% 85% 100% Alltid
7. Om du reser med någon, vem är vanligtvis en beslutsfattare och
vem är följare?
Jag - beslutsfattare / min följeslagare - följare
Jag - följare / min följeslagare - beslutsfattare
8. Är du orolig för global uppvärmning och klimatförändringar?
• 0% - Inte alls orolig
• 25%
• 50%
• 75%
• 100% - Mycket orolig
Huvudfrågor
9. Hur skulle du bedöma följande faktorer när du bestämmer vart du
ska åka på en charterresa?
Destinationens popularitet
Inte viktigt 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Väldigt viktigt
Restid
Inte viktigt 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Väldigt viktigt
Säkerhet
Inte viktigt 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Väldigt viktigt
Hållbarhet
Inte viktigt 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Väldigt viktigt
65
10. Är du redo att betala mer för hållbara produkter och tjänster? “Jag
är beredd att betala… ..% mer”
0% 10% 25% 50% 75% 85% 100%
11. Hur sannolikt är det att du väljer ett hållbart (ekologiskt) resepaket
istället för ett traditionellt paket?
0% 10% 25% 50% 75% 85% 100%
12. På vilken nivå är ditt förtroende gentemot miljömärkta resebyråer
och deras marknadsföring på nätet?
Inget 0% 10% 25% 50%75%85% 100% Högt
förtroende förtroende
13. Om du inte väljer hållbara charterturer när du reser, beror det inte
på att du inte litar på dessa miljömärken och företag som certifierar
dessa tjänster som hållbara?
Ja Nej
14. Skulle en hållbarhetscertifiering öka din vilja att välja dessa
produkter och tjänster?
0% - Inte alls
10% - Mycket osannolikt
25% - Osannolikt
50% - Varken troligt eller osannolikt
75% - Troligt
85% - Väldigt troligt
100% -Absolut
66
15. Tror du att marknadsföring av hållbarhet har en betydande
inverkan på ditt val?
0% - Instämmer inte alls
10% - Instämmer lite grann
25% - Instämmerdelvis
50% - varken eller
75% - Instämmer till viss grad
85% - Instämmer till stor del
100% -Instämmerfulltmed
16. I vilken utsträckning skulle du lita på en hållbarhetscertifiering av
följande:
Universitet / forskare
Inget 0% 10% 25% 50%75%85% 100% Högt
förtroende förtroende
Globala turistorganisationer
Inget 0% 10% 25% 50%75%85% 100% Högt
förtroende
förtroendeCharterföretags interna certifiering
Inget 0% 10% 25% 50%75%85% 100% Högt
förtroende förtroende
Oberoende miljöorganisationer
Inget 0% 10% 25% 50%75%85% 100% Högt
förtroende förtroende