The Role of Participative Leadership in Empowerment and Resident Participation

Abstract

Traditional tourism development has adopted a top-down approach, and the role of government has primarily been decision making and regulation in regard to tourism development. There has been growing interest in residents’ participation in tourism destination development and management. The study aims provide empirical evidence by examining the relationship between participative leadership, empowerment, and tourism participation among residents living in the provinces near the borders in Korea. We examine the economic benefits derived from tourists as a moderator. A total of 758 questionnaires were used. This study performed descriptive analysis, factor analysis, and structural equation modeling (SEM). This study examined the effects of participative leadership and empowerment on three categories of residents’ participation in tourism in DMZ areas in South Korea. This present study tests the relationships between and evaluated the effects of participatory leadership and resident empowerment on three types of resident participation. Participative leadership positively influences empowerment and resident participation. In addition, a positive effect of psychological empowerment between participative leadership and participation as a mediator was found. Participative leadership affects motivational processes, and psychological empowerment leads to participation. The results found that residents perceive their participation as important, and there is no difference based on the additional income they derive from tourism. The study contributes to the enhancement of sustainable development and a deeper understanding of how residents act. Furthermore, the results can provide direction for the creation of participative approaches in tourism development.

The Relationships between Tourism Destination Competitiveness, Empowerment, and Supportive Actions for Tourism

“…In the previous literature, it was identified that when residents perceive benefits from tourism, they are more willing to be empowered to support tourism for their communities [28]. In previous studies, the different effects of multiple empowerments were shown, and empirical studies regarding empowerment and residents' action were called for [8,28]. Specifically, Nunkoo and So [58] examined several antecedents of residents' support.…”

“…Previous research regarding DMZ areas and tourism has been explored in various perspectives such as the motivation of dark tourism [3], the economic values of wellpreserved natural environments [4,5], border images and visual representations [6], and the role of tourism as a peaceful connection between North and South Korea [7]. Recently, relevant stakeholders' behaviors in DMZ areas have been studied [8][9][10][11].…”

“…Research has been carried out regarding the demand for tourism in the DMZ areas; however, few studies have considered the perspective of residents living in provinces near the DMZ areas [8,11]. Moreover, scholars have called for further research to be carried out regarding host communities in the DMZ areas and residents' support for tourism and engagement in decision-making processes which are crucial for sustainable tourism [8,9,11]. A need arises for research regarding residents' behavior in support of destination management and tourism development.…”

Characteristics and Temporal Trends of Regional Tourism Along the Border Areas

“…Previous research also focuses on the role of various stakeholders around DMZ areas for tourism and the decision-making process for tourism development [53,54]. Specifically, Kim, Choe, and Lee [50] investigated residents' support for DMZ visits during pre-and post-development stages.…”

The National Target Program for New Rural Development in Vietnam: An Understanding of People’s Participation and Its Determinants

“…We argue that this impact has both potential and the ability to be a challenge for participating in this program. On the one hand, the role of government-related participants helps to promote their households' participation, or people are motivated by participative leadership [58]. On the other hand, this also reveals unsustainability when incentives for community participation are influenced by some individuals in the government system.…”