A Reflective–Formative Hierarchical Component Model of Perceived Authenticity

Discussions on authenticity have become prominent in tourism research, particularly in the context of heritage tourism and quantitative approaches have become popular methods to investigate authenticity, especially from a tourist’s perspective. Previous studies, however, have failed to include multiple forms of authenticity into a single quantitative scale, as well as to use a formative approach for its measures. This study develops a comprehensive and reliable scale of authenticity, considering its multidimensional complexity and its formative nature. A reflective–formative hierarchical component model of perceived authenticity toward heritage experience, including three lower order components of objective authenticity, existential authenticity, and constructive authenticity, is proposed. The scale of authenticity also indicates a strong predictive power over tourist satisfaction.