관광지의 기능적 일치성이 관광객의 ESG 참여행동에 미치는 영향: 헤도닉 경험과 관광지 브랜드 사랑의 직렬매개효과를 중심으로

This study highlights the crucial role of tourists in achieving destination sustainability. While previous research has often treated tourists as passive actors or limited their participation to environmental aspects, this study positions tourists as co-producers of services who actively contribute to value co-creation. The purpose of this research is to empirically examine the specific pathway through which functional congruence in a tourist destination leads to tourists’ ESG (environmental, social, and governance) engagement behaviors. Drawing on broaden-and-build theory, the study proposes that functional congruence influences tourists not only through cognitive evaluation but also by shaping hedonic experience and destination brand love. The results show that functional congruence does not directly affect ESG engagement behaviors; instead, its impact is fully mediated by hedonic experience and destination brand love—both independently and through a serial mediation process. This demonstrates a full mediation effect. By redefining tourists as active agents of sustainability, this study offers theoretical and practical implications for sustainable destination management and provides strategic insights into fostering tourists’ voluntary ESG engagement.