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Emotional and cognitive mechanisms of eco-social receptivity: Exploring tourism brand e-vocacy in AI-enabled travel

Muhammad Imran et al.

Acta Psychologica2026https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2026.106311article
ABDC A
Weight
0.48

Abstract

Tourism accounts for roughly 10% of global greenhouse-gas emissions and is projected to increase substantially by 2030 without decisive action. In response, this study investigates how travelers' eco-social receptivity on social media can transform them into climate advocates (termed tourism brand e-vocacy). We address a critical knowledge gap by examining the emotional and cognitive mechanisms linking receptivity to e-vocacy, and the conditions under which these processes are strengthened. A multi-city survey (n = 427) of leisure travelers in five major Chinese tourism hubs was conducted to test a stimulus-organism-response model. Results reveal that eco-social receptivity drives tourism brand e-vocacy predominantly through a "warm-glow" emotional route (tourist green happiness) and secondarily via a cognitive route (eco-brand trust). Next-generation smart travel intelligence usage significantly amplifies both the affective and cognitive mediation pathways, whereas high perceived authenticity of social-action advertising intensifies only the affective path. Notably, the moderated mediation via eco-brand trust was non-significant. By extending the S-O-R framework into an AI-augmented, socially conscious tourism context, this research offers novel insights for sustainable travel marketing. The findings suggest that emotionally resonant, credible eco-initiatives on social platforms can convert receptive tourists into proactive online advocates, supporting global climate-action goals.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2026.106311

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@article{muhammad2026,
  title        = {{Emotional and cognitive mechanisms of eco-social receptivity: Exploring tourism brand e-vocacy in AI-enabled travel}},
  author       = {Muhammad Imran et al.},
  journal      = {Acta Psychologica},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2026.106311},
}

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Evidence weight

0.48

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.41 × 0.4 = 0.16
M · momentum0.63 × 0.15 = 0.09
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.