ItemArticle

Revisiting the PushPull Tourist Motivation Model: A Theoretical and Empirical Justification for a ReflectiveFormative Structure

Title
Revisiting the PushPull Tourist Motivation Model: A Theoretical and Empirical Justification for a ReflectiveFormative Structure
Creator
Joseph, Joshin; Gillariose, Jiju
Description
This study introduces a novel reflectiveformative hierarchical model specification for the classic pushpull tourist motivation construct, aligning its measurement with the theoretical distinction between intrinsic push drives and external pull attributes. Unlike the traditional reflective-reflective structuring of tourist motivation we defied the higher order factors (novelty, knowledge and facilities as formative. Using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) on a purposive sample of 319 international tourists, we empirically validate the reflectiveformative (reflective first-order, formative second-order) model. The reflectiveformative model showed a superior fit and predictive power: it explained substantially more variance in key outcome constructs (social motives (R2 = 53.60) and self-actualization (R2 = 23.10)) than the traditional reflectivereflective specification (social motives (R2 = 49.30) and self-actualization (R2 = 21.70)), which is consistent with best-practice guidelines for theoretically grounded models. In contrast, the incorrectly specified reflectivereflective model showed stronger effects between unrelated constructs, supporting concerns that choosing the wrong type of measurement model can lead to incorrect conclusions. By reconciling the pushpull theory with measurement design, this works main contributions are a theoretically justified reflectiveformative model for tourist motivation, and evidence of its empirical benefits. These findings highlight a methodological innovation in motivation modeling and underscore that modeling pushpull motives formatively yields more accurate insights for theory and practice. 2025 by the authors.
Source
Tourism and Hospitality;Volume;6;Issue;3;Article No.;139;
Date
01-01-2025
Publisher
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)
Subject
model misspecifications; push pull motive; tourist motive; tourist satisfaction
Coverage
Joseph J., Marian College Kuttikkanam, Idukki, Kerala, India; Gillariose J., Department of Statistics and Data Science, Christ University, Hosur Road, Karnataka, Bangalore, 560029, India
Rights
All Open Access; Gold Open Access; Green Open Access
Relation
ISSN: 26735768;
Format
online
Language
English
Type
Article

Citation

Joseph, Joshin; Gillariose, Jiju, “Revisiting the PushPull Tourist Motivation Model: A Theoretical and Empirical Justification for a ReflectiveFormative Structure,” CHRIST (Deemed To Be University) Institutional Repository, accessed June 18, 2026, https://archives.christuniversity.in/items/show/23546.

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