“It is my place”: residents’ community-based psychological ownership and its impact on rural tourism participation

The participation of residents plays a crucial role in achieving sustainable development of tourism in rural community. This study proposes a novel concept, namely community-based psychological ownership (C-PO) and examines its dimensionality and association with community participation in rural tourism. The scale of C-PO was developed through 4 stages. In Stage 1, initial item pool with 25 items is generated based on a qualitative study from Shangchengdai and Dachen Village in Zhejiang, China. Through Stage 2 and Stage 3, a 23-item six-dimensional scale is confirmed using data collected in two on-site surveys (n = 93, n = 416) at Maoyang Township, Zhejiang. In Study 4, using survey data (n = 485) collected from Heyang Village and Maoyang Township, Zhejiang, the relationships between C-PO and community participation in rural tourism development are examined. The results indicate that self-identity, self-efficacy, community responsibility and community belongingness have positive effects on community participation, while community possession and territoriality have a non-significant and negative impact, respectively. Recommendations are provided for better encouraging community participation in tourism development by managing residents' psychological ownership towards their communities.