Why do travelers return to the Physical Museum? A push-pull-mooring framework

Abstract

This research aims to empirically investigate how travelers transition from online to physical museums by utilizing and expanding the push-pull-mooring (PPM) model. Drawing from earlier studies and the present condition of museum tourism, this study identifies three push factors (dissatisfaction, technostress, and information overload), five pull factors (social interaction, perceived value, visual aesthetic, immersive experience, and perceived enjoyment), and three mooring factors (past experience, habit and switching cost). Travelers to the physical museum provided 434 legitimate questionnaires in total. The hypotheses were tested through structural equation modeling. The primary conclusions drawn from this research include: 1. Switching behavior is primarily influenced by push factors, pull factors, experience, and habit, with pull factors being the main driver of switching behavior. 2. Perceived value is the key factor among the pull factors, while dissatisfaction is the main factor in push factors. 3. Past experience diminishes the influence of push factors on switching behavior. This paper utilizes an expanded Push-Pull-Mooring (PPM) framework to investigate traveler-switching behavior in museum tourism. Furthermore, this paper offers valuable insights into converting behavior from online to physical museums.