Does relative deprivation inhibit tourist citizenship behaviour? The role of psychological capital

Tourist citizenship behaviour is vital for destinations seeking to maintain a competitive edge; however, research on its potential decline is limited. This study investigates how relative deprivation inhibits tourist citizenship behaviour. Drawing on equity theory, it proposes a parallel mediation model where psychological capital mediates the effect of relative deprivation on tourist citizenship behaviour. Data were collected from a sample of 426 tourists at Shennongjia National Park in China to test the conceptual model. The results reveal that both horizontal and vertical relative deprivation negatively affect tourist citizenship behaviour, with horizontal relative deprivation being more influential. Furthermore, guanxi-oriented psychological capital mediates the effect of horizontal relative deprivation on tourist citizenship behaviour, while task-oriented psychological capital mediates the effect of vertical relative deprivation on tourist citizenship behaviour. This study contributes to the literature on tourism and psychology, also offering insights for destination managers to foster tourist citizenship behaviour.