| Title: | Integrated leadership behavior and elderly tourist satisfaction: A cross-national structural equation modeling analysis of service quality and innovation |
| Researcher: | Jidapa Chollathanrattanapong, Liu Jinze, Clinton C. Anyanwu and Jiacheng Zhong |
| Degree: | M.B.A. (International Program) |
| Major: | Master of Business Administration |
| Faculty of study: | Graduate School |
| Academic year: | 2569 (2026) |
| Published: | African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure 2026, Vol.15(3), pp.821-831 View |
Abstract
The ageing population is driving demand for tourism services that are reliable, emotionally reassuring, personalised and innovative. This study examines the impact of Integrated Leadership Behaviour (ILB) on tourist satisfaction of elderly tourists thru service quality and service innovation, and if there are differences in relationships between China and Thailand. Integrated Leadership Behaviour is a higher-order construct integrating servant and transformational leadership based on Social Exchange Theory and Service-Dominant Logic. 498 elderly tourists aged between 60 and 79 years old were surveyed and data were analysed using structural equation modelling and multi-group analysis. The results indicate that Integrated Leadership Behaviour has a positive impact on service quality, service innovation and elderly tourist satisfaction. Leadership behaviour affects satisfaction thru both service quality and service innovation, which mediate the relationship. Also, cross- national differences were observed: the leadership-service quality path was more prominent in Thailand whereas innovation orientated paths were more pronounced in China. This study adds to the literature of tourism leadership in the following ways: (i) reveals leadership as an upstream organisational antecedent to elderly tourist satisfaction and (ii) identifies dual service mechanisms with varying effects across cultural contexts.
Keywords: Integrated leadership behavior; elderly tourist satisfaction; service quality; service innovation; structural equation modelling