Consumer involvement and information search among adult Chinese participants in arts festivals and arts museums in the New York metropolitan area

As leisure researchers aim at understanding the psychological meanings of individuals' leisure pursuits, the construct of involvement has become a promising variable to help understand and explain individuals' leisure behaviors. Researchers have examined involvement in various areas such as attitudes and expenditures, loyalty, service quality, pricing, the socialization process, leisure satisfaction, and opinion leadership. However, few studies focused on its relationship to information search, which is influential in individuals' selection of leisure activities. Accordingly, this study explored the relationship of underlying dimensions of involvement (i.e., pleasure, importance, sign value, risk) to information search (i.e., sources facilitating decision making) among adult Chinese participants in arts festivals and arts museums in the New York Metropolitan area. The relative importance of factors motivating individuals to attend these activities was also examined. This study defined involvement as a psychological state of motivation, arousal, or interest revealed by individuals towards leisure activities.; Three Chinese Chorus Associations were selected from which a convenient sample of 171 members was drawn. A survey research design was used and the participants completed a questionnaire anonymously. The questionnaire used consisted of three instruments: Involvement Profile Scale, Information Search Scale, and Personal Attributes Scale. A factor analysis was conducted to confirm the multi-dimensional structure of involvement and its reliability; and a correlation analysis was employed to explore the relationships of involvement dimensions, information search, and selected personal attributes. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to identify those factors that influenced individuals' search behaviors. Results indicated that higher levels of involvement correlated with higher levels of information search. Specifically, risk probability concerns and self-expression were effective determinants of information search. In addition to the involvement dimensions, attendance during travel appeared to be another powerful determinant of information search. Among the social demographic variables, only living with children had predictive power to explain the frequency of and type of information source used. Based upon the results, it can be concluded that individuals' involvement with activities was complex in nature, and its influence on leisure behaviors varied depending on the activity setting and research context. However, concerning the study sample, the research findings were only applicable to a homogeneous group of Chinese people. Future research specifying specific activity context and location with a more diverse sample is needed to establish the generalizability of the study findings, and to expand our understanding of leisure behaviors in various cultures.