Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online 2025
Exploring the psychological benefits of value co-creation in tourism: Enhancing hedonic and eudaimonic well-being through empowerment,social connectedness,and positive emotions
This study investigates the psychological benefits of value co-creation in tourism, focusing on its effect on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Although tourism has conventionally been associated with hedonic consumption, less consideration has been given to its fuller potential for bettering more profound psychological outcomes. Therefore, this research fills this gap by investigating how value co-creation activities enhance well-being. In particular, we propose that co-creation enhances positive emotions, empowerment, and social connectedness, providing both hedonic and eudaimonic well-being in the short and long run. We used data from 410 domestic travelers who participated in co-creation during their most recent trips and used structural equation modeling to investigate the links between co-creation behaviors and well-being outcomes. Results showed that positive emotions act as partial mediators in associations of co-creation behaviors with hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. The strongest drivers of psychological benefits involved empowerment and social connectedness. These findings spotlight the emotional and psychological dimensions of tourism marketing strategies, offering the potential for tourism businesses to achieve more significant customer satisfaction and long-term well-being benefits from travelers. These findings have valuable implications for managers pursuing meaningful customer relationships through value co-creation and enhancement of overall well-being through inspiring travel experiences.
Ackrill JL (1973) Aristotle's Ethics: Translation with Notes. New York, NY: Humanities Press.
2.
AgrawalAKRahmanZ (2015) Roles and resource contributions of customers in value co-creation. International Strategic Management Review3(1): 144–160.
3.
AhnJBackK-JBogerC (2019) Effects of integrated resort experience on customers’ hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research43(8): 1225–1255.
4.
Alarcón-LópezRLópez-LópezIRuiz-de-MayaS (2025) Low and high outcome quality in co-created hospitality services: Two explanations for consumer satisfaction. Journal of Vacation Marketing31(1): 3–21.
5.
AlexiouM-V (2020) Experience economy and co-creation in a cultural heritage festival: consumers’ views. Journal of Heritage Tourism15(2): 200–216.
6.
BanduraA (2001) Social cognitive theory: An agentic perspective. Annual Review of Psychology52(1): 1–26.
7.
BonsuSKDarmodyA (2008) Co-creating second life: Market—consumer cooperation in contemporary economy. Journal of Macromarketing28(4): 355–368.
8.
BoveLLPervanSJBeattySE, et al. (2009) Service worker role in encouraging customer organizational citizenship behaviors. Journal of Business Research62(7): 698–705.
9.
BuonincontriPMorvilloAOkumusF, et al. (2017) Managing the experience co-creation process in tourism destinations: Empirical findings from Naples. Tourism Management62: 264–277.
10.
CarvalhoPAlvesH (2023) Customer value co-creation in the hospitality and tourism industry: A systematic literature review. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management35(1): 250–273.
11.
ChangLVadaSMoyleBD, et al. (2024) Unlocking the gateway to tourist well-being: The Triple-A model of engagement in tourism experiences. Current Issues in Tourism, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2024.2359544.
12.
ChenC-FWangJ-P (2016) Customer participation, value co-creation and customer loyalty – A case of airline online check-in system. Computers in Human Behavior62: 346–352.
13.
ChenYCottamELinZ (2020) The effect of resident-tourist value co-creation on residents’ well-being. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management44: 30–37.
14.
ChoTFaermanSR (2010) An integrative approach to empowerment. Public Management Review12(1): 33–51.
15.
ChyungSYYBarkinJRShamsyJA (2018) Evidence-based survey design: The use of negatively worded items in surveys. Performance Improvement57(3): 16–25.
DavilaMCFinkelsteinMA (2013) Organizational citizenship behavior and well-being: Preliminary results. International Journal of Applied Psychology3(3): 45–51.
18.
DeciELRyanRM (1985) The general causality orientations scale: Self-determination in personality. Journal of Research in Personality19(2): 109–134.
19.
DeciELRyanRM (2008) Hedonia, eudaimonia, and well-being: An introduction. Journal of Happiness Studies9(1): 1–11.
20.
DekhiliSHallemY (2020) An examination of the relationship between co-creation and well-being: An application in the case of tourism. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing37(1): 33–47.
DienerEEmmonsRALarsenRJ, et al. (1985) The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment49(1): 71.
23.
DienerEWirtzDTovW, et al. (2010) New well-being measures: Short scales to assess flourishing and positive and negative feelings. Social Indicators Research97(2): 143–156.
24.
DisabatoDJGoodmanFRKashdanTB, et al. (2016) Different types of well-being? A cross-cultural examination of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Psychological Assessment28(5): 471–482.
25.
EtgarM (2008) A descriptive model of the consumer co-production process. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science36(1): 97–108.
26.
FanDXHsuCHLinB (2020) Tourists’ experiential value co-creation through online social contacts: Customer-dominant logic perspective. Journal of Business Research108: 163–173.
27.
FilepS (2014) Moving beyond subjective well-being: A tourism critique. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research38(2): 266–274.
28.
FilepSLaingJ (2019) Trends and directions in tourism and positive psychology. Journal of Travel Research58(3): 343–354.
29.
FilepSMoyleBDSkavronskayaL (2024) Tourist wellbeing: Re-thinking hedonic and eudaimonic dimensions. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research48(1): 184–193.
30.
FontXEnglishRGkritzaliA, et al. (2021) Value co-creation in sustainable tourism: A service-dominant logic approach. Tourism Management82: 104200.
31.
FredricksonBL (1998) What good are positive emotions?Review of General Psychology2(3): 300–319.
32.
FredricksonBL (2001) The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist56(3): 218–226.
33.
FriedmanMS (2019) Martin Buber: The Life of Dialogue. 4th ed. New York, NY: Routledge.
34.
GongTYiY (2021) A review of customer citizenship behaviors in the service context. The Service Industries Journal41(3–4): 169–199.
35.
GongTChoiJNMurdyS (2016) Does customer value creation behavior drive customer well-being?Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal44(1): 59–75.
36.
GrissemannUSStokburger-SauerNE (2012) Customer co-creation of travel services: The role of company support and customer satisfaction with the co-creation performance. Tourism Management33(6): 1483–1492.
37.
GrönroosC (2012) Conceptualising value co-creation: A journey to the 1970s and back to the future. Journal of Marketing Management28(13–14): 1520–1534.
38.
GrothM (2005) Customers as good soldiers: Examining citizenship behaviors in internet service deliveries. Journal of Management31(1): 7–27.
39.
HairJFRingleCMSarstedtM (2011) PLS-SEM: Indeed a silver bullet. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice19(2): 139–152.
40.
HaroMÁGRuizMPMCañasRM (2014) The effects of the value co-creation process on the consumer and the company. Expert Journal of Marketing2(2): 68–81.
41.
HawkleyLCBrowneMWCacioppoJT (2005) How can I connect with thee?: Let me count the ways. Psychological Science16(10): 798–804.
42.
HenselerJRingleCMSarstedtM (2015) A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science43(1): 115–135.
43.
HolbrookMB (2006) Consumption experience, customer value, and subjective personal introspection: An illustrative photographic essay. Journal of Business Research59(6): 714–725.
44.
HsiehY-CChiuH-CTangY-C, et al. (2018) Does raising value co-creation increase all customers’ happiness?Journal of Business Ethics152(4): 1053–1067.
45.
HuangSMatthewsMLiangLJ, et al. (2023) Instrumental support and its impact on psychological capital and well-being in online learning: A study of hospitality and tourism students. Creative Education14(10): 1984–2008.
46.
HutaVRyanRM (2010) Pursuing pleasure or virtue: The differential and overlapping well-being benefits of hedonic and eudaimonic motives. Journal of Happiness Studies11(6): 735–762.
47.
HutaVWatermanAS (2014) Eudaimonia and its distinction from hedonia: Developing a classification and terminology for understanding conceptual and operational definitions. Journal of Happiness Studies15(6): 1425–1456.
48.
JohnSPSupramaniamS (2024) Value co-creation research in tourism and hospitality management: A systematic literature review. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management58: 96–114.
49.
KimMKimHKimD (2022) Volunteers of mega-events as co-creators of host destinations: volunteers’ experience, value, and satisfaction toward host destination. Tourism Management Perspectives44: 101044.
50.
KnoblochURobertsonKAitkenR (2017) Experience, emotion, and eudaimonia: A consideration of tourist experiences and well-being. Journal of Travel Research56(5): 651–662.
51.
KorsgaardCM (2018) Fellow Creatures: Kantian Ethics and Our Duties to Animals. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
52.
KrautR (1979) Two conceptions of happiness. The Philosophical Review88(2): 167–197.
53.
LeeMKohJ (2001) Is empowerment really a new concept?The International Journal of Human Resource Management12(4): 684–695.
54.
LeeRMDeanBLJungK-R (2008) Social connectedness, extraversion, and subjective well-being: Testing a mediation model. Personality and Individual Differences45(5): 414–419.
55.
LeeRMRobbinsSB (1995) Measuring belongingness: The social connectedness and the social assurance scales. Journal of Counseling Psychology42(2): 232.
56.
LeeYJPangSFChoiHC, et al. (2024) Exploring the mechanisms of tourist well-being: An application of cognitive appraisal theory and self-determination theory. Tourism and Hospitality Research, 14673584241293900. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/14673584241293900.
57.
LiTEChanETH (2017) Diaspora tourism and well-being: A eudaimonic view. Annals of Tourism Research63: 205–206.
58.
LinHZhangMGursoyD (2022) Effects of tourist-to-tourist interactions on experience cocreation: A self-determination theory perspective. Journal of Travel Research61(5): 1105–1120.
59.
LiuSLiSChenY, et al. (2023) Examining relationships among food’s perceived value, well-being, and tourists’ loyalty. Journal of Vacation Marketing29(2): 161–174.
60.
LuschRFVargoSLTanniruM (2010) Service, value networks and learning. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science38(1): 19–31.
61.
MatteucciXVolićIFilepS (2022) Dimensions of friendship in shared travel experiences. Leisure Sciences44(6): 697–714.
62.
MogilnerC (2010) The pursuit of happiness: time, money, and social connection. Psychological Science21(9): 1348–1354.
63.
NawijnJ (2016) Positive psychology in tourism: A critique. Annals of Tourism Research56: 151–153.
64.
NezakatiHAsgariOKarimiF, et al. (2010) Fostering organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) through human resources empowerment (HRE). World Journal of Management2(3): 47–64.
65.
O'NeillO (2013) Acting on Principle: An Essay on Kantian Ethics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
66.
PatrickVMHagtvedtH (2012) “I don't” versus “I can't”: When empowered refusal motivates goal-directed behavior. Journal of Consumer Research39(2): 371–381.
67.
PengYWuTChenZ, et al. (2022) Value cocreation in health care: Systematic review. Journal of Medical Internet Research24(3): e33061.
68.
PeraRVigliaG (2015) Turning ideas into products: subjective well-being in co-creation. The Service Industries Journal35(7–8): 388–402.
69.
PineBJGilmoreJH (1998) Welcome to the experience economy. Harvard Business Review76: 97–105.
70.
PrahaladCKRamaswamyV (2000) Co-opting customer competence. Harvard Business Review78(1): 79–90.
71.
PrahaladCKRamaswamyV (2004) Co-creation experiences: The next practice in value creation. Journal of Interactive Marketing18(3): 5–14.
72.
PrebensenNK (2013) Aktive turister gir verdier.
73.
PrebensenNKVittersøJDahlTI (2013) Value co-creation significance of tourist resources. Annals of Tourism Research42: 240–261.
74.
PrebensenNKXieJ (2017) Efficacy of co-creation and mastering on perceived value and satisfaction in tourists’ consumption. Tourism Management60: 166–176.
75.
PressmanSDKraftTLCrossMP (2015) It's good to do good and receive good: The impact of a 'pay it forward' style kindness intervention on giver and receiver well-being. The Journal of Positive Psychology10(4): 293–302.
76.
RanjanKRReadS (2016) Value co-creation: Concept and measurement. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science44(3): 290–315.
77.
ReisHTLemayEPJr.FinkenauerC (2017) Toward understanding understanding: The importance of feeling understood in relationships. Social and Personality Psychology Compass11(3): e12308.
78.
RihovaIBuhalisDMoitalM, et al. (2015) Conceptualising customer-to-customer value co-creation in tourism. International Journal of Tourism Research17(4): 356–363.
79.
RosenbaumMCorusCOstromA, et al. (2011) Conceptualisation and aspirations of transformative service research (SSRN Scholarly Paper No. 2643219). https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=2643219.
80.
RoySKBalajiMSSoutarG, et al. (2020) The antecedents and consequences of value co-creation behaviors in a hotel setting: A two-country study. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly61(3): 353–368.
81.
RyanRMHutaVDeciEL (2008) Living well: a self-determination theory perspective on eudaimonia. Journal of Happiness Studies9(1): 139–170.
82.
RyffCD (1989) Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology9(1): 1069.
83.
RyffCDKeyesCLM (1995) The structure of psychological well-being revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology69(4): 719.
84.
SeligmanMEPCsikszentmihalyiM (2000) Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist55(1): 5–14.
85.
SeppalaERossomandoTDotyJR (2013) Social connection and compassion: Important predictors of health and well-being. Social Research: An International Quarterly80(2): 411–430.
86.
ShahvaliMKerstetterDLTownsendJN (2021) The contribution of vacationing together to couple functioning. Journal of Travel Research60(1): 133–148.
87.
SharmaSConduitJRao HillS (2017) Hedonic and eudaimonic well-being outcomes from co-creation roles: A study of vulnerable customers. Journal of Services Marketing31(4/5): 397–411.
88.
SmithMKDiekmannA (2017) Tourism and wellbeing. Annals of Tourism Research66: 1–13.
89.
StephanELibermanNTropeY (2010) Politeness and psychological distance: A construal level perspective. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology98(2): 268–280.
90.
SthapitEJiCYangP, et al. (2024) Memorable digital-free tourism experiences: Antecedents and outcomes. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 13567667241282022. https://doi.org/10.1177/13567667241282022.
91.
StukasAAHoyeRNicholsonM, et al. (2016) Motivations to volunteer and their associations with volunteers’ well-being. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly45(1): 112–132.
92.
SuLHuangS (Sam)van der VeenR, et al. (2014) Corporate social responsibility, corporate reputation, customer emotions and behavioral intentions: A structural equation modeling analysis. Journal of China Tourism Research10(4): 511–529.
93.
SuLPanLWenJ, et al. (2023) Effects of tourism experiences on tourists’ subjective well-being through recollection and storytelling. Journal of Vacation Marketing29(4): 479–497.
94.
SuLSwansonSRChenX (2018) The relationship of perceived service quality with revisitation and subjective well-being of Chinese tourists: The role of emotions and destination identification. Tourism Review International22(2): 131–142.
95.
SuLTangBNawijnJ (2020) Eudaimonic and hedonic well-being pattern changes: Intensity and activity. Annals of Tourism Research84: 103008.
96.
SutcliffeAWangD (2012) Computational modelling of trust and social relationships. Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation15(1): 3.
97.
SweeneyJCDanaherTSMcColl-KennedyJR (2015) Customer effort in value co-creation activities: Improving quality of life and behavioral intentions of health care customers. Journal of Service Research18(3): 318–335.
98.
TaheriBCoelhoFJSousaCMP, et al. (2017) Mood regulation, customer participation, and customer value creation in hospitality services. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management29(12): 3063–3081.
ThorsteinsenKVittersøJ (2020) Now you see it, now you don't: Solid and subtle differences between hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. The Journal of Positive Psychology15(4): 519–530.
101.
TorfingJSørensenERøiselandA (2019) Transforming the public sector into an arena for co-creation: Barriers, drivers, benefits, and ways forward. Administration & Society51(5): 795–825.
102.
UsluATosunP (2024) Tourist personality, value co-creation, and emotional well-being. International Journal of Consumer Studies48(1): e12995.
103.
VadaSPrenticeCHsiaoA (2019) The influence of tourism experience and well-being on place attachment. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services47: 322–330.
104.
VadaSPrenticeCScottN, et al. (2020) Positive psychology and tourist well-being: A systematic literature review. Tourism Management Perspectives33: 100631.
105.
VargoSLLuschRF (2004) Evolving to a new dominant logic for marketing. Journal of Marketing68(1): 1–17.
106.
WallsARWangY (2011) Destination Marketing and Management: Theories and Applications. Wallingford: CABI.
107.
WangLHouYChenZ (2021) Are rich and diverse emotions beneficial? The impact of emodiversity on tourists’ experiences. Journal of Travel Research60(5): 1085–1103.
108.
WatermanAS (1993) Two conceptions of happiness: Contrasts of personal expressiveness (eudaimonia) and hedonic enjoyment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology64(4): 79.
109.
WatermanAS (2008) Reconsidering happiness: A eudaimonist's perspective. The Journal of Positive Psychology3(4): 234–252.
110.
WeiMLiYZhangT, et al. (2023) How values are co-created by tourists and TikTok that are conducive to destination promotion: Evidence from Chongqing. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 13567667231210591. https://doi.org/10.1177/13567667231210591.
111.
XieJTkaczynskiAPrebensenNK (2020) Human value co-creation behavior in tourism: Insight from an Australian whale watching experience. Tourism Management Perspectives35: 100709.
YiYGongT (2013) Customer value co-creation behavior: Scale development and validation. Journal of Business Research66(9): 1279–1284.
114.
YuCLiangLJChoiHC (2024) Examining customer value cocreation behavior in boutique hotels: Hospitableness, perceived value, satisfaction, and citizenship behavior. Tourism Analysis29(2): 221–237.
115.
YuJSmaleBXiaoH (2021) Examining the change in wellbeing following a holiday. Tourism Management87: 104367.
116.
YukselMMilneGRMillerEG (2016) Social media as complementary consumption: The relationship between consumer empowerment and social interactions in experiential and informative contexts. Journal of Consumer Marketing33(2): 111–123.
117.
ZeithamlVA (1988) Consumer perceptions of price, quality, and value: A means-end model and synthesis of evidence. Journal of Marketing52(3): 2–22.
118.
ZhaoXLynchJGChenQ (2010) Reconsidering Baron and Kenny: Myths and truths about mediation analysis. Journal of Consumer Research37(2): 197–206.
