ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Sustain. Tour.
Sec. Behaviors and Behavior Change in Tourism
Volume 4 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/frsut.2025.1594183
This article is part of the Research TopicGenerative AI: Applications and Implications for Tourism and Hospitality IndustryView all articles
Developing a cognitive conservation model for the management of Malaysian birders' behaviour towards birds
Provisionally accepted
- 1Putra Malaysia University, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
- 2University of Derby, Derby, East Midlands, United Kingdom
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Birdwatching as a subcategory of ecotourism can create recreational disturbance. This research aims to assess two main goals: firstly, the effects of the frequency of participation (FOP) of Malaysian birders as moderators on the constructs of a Predictive Bird Conservation Model (PBCM). Secondly, the Importance-Performance Matrix Analyses (IPMA) of the PBCM, the extension builds on the partial least squares (PLS) estimates of the path model relationships. Data was collected from 421 Malaysian birdwatchers using a field survey. We extend the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and cognitive hierarchy model (CHM), which was integrated into PBCM. The model was tested using the PLS approach. The work explored the moderating role of FOP in all defined relationships in PBCM. Six hypotheses are proposed and tested. This research reflects the importance of FOP in moderating the relationship between value orientation and intention towards disturbance behaviour among Malaysian birdwatchers and further shows the moderator role of FOP between Attitude and intention. FOP does not moderate other defined relationships in the PBCM. The study also enriches the birdwatching literature for decision-making sustainably. The findings provide useful managerial insights for policymakers and practitioners regarding bird-watching behaviour.
Keywords: Conservation model, birdwatching, ecotourism, Frequency of Participation (FOP), Theory of Planned Behavoiur (TBP), human dimensions, the Importance-Performance Matrix Analyses (IPMA), avitourist
Received: 15 Mar 2025; Accepted: 11 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Jafarpour and Ramkissoon. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Marjan Jafarpour, Putra Malaysia University, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
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