{"id":{"repo_id":"auckland-ms","oai_identifier":"oai:researchspace.auckland.ac.nz:2292/73897"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/auckland-ms/oai:researchspace.auckland.ac.nz:2292/73897","repository":{"repo_id":"auckland-ms","name":"University of Auckland","base_url":"https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Perceived Crowding: Consumers’ Lived Experiences of a Tourist Destination","abstract":"Crowding, driven by population growth, urbanisation, industrialisation, and tourism, extends beyond physical density to encompass psychological, social, and cultural dimensions. This thesis with publications, integrates prospective and retrospective perspectives to offer a more comprehensive understanding of perceived crowding (PC). Data from a single two-phase qualitative empirical study is utilised to map lived crowding experiences longitudinally with a particular emphasis on perceived risks and consumer vulnerabilities. Paper 1 introduces the two-phase research method, extending visual research through a sequential photo-elicitation approach to explore pre- and post-experience accounts. This method enables richer contextual insights into crowding as a temporally situated phenomenon. Paper 2 conceptualises crowding awareness (CA), describing how consumers anticipate risks and establish pre-experience expectational standards that guide their responses during crowded experiences. These subjective benchmarks influence how consumers anticipate and mitigate perceived risks and form attitudes towards crowding, typically perceived as a negative but inevitable aspect of popular destinations. Paper 3 examines the implications of PC for consumer vulnerability, distinguishing between categorical and contextual vulnerability. The findings reveal that PC exacerbates dispositional vulnerabilities. Crowding is framed as a socio-psychological construct shaped by cultural norms, tourist thresholds, and the dynamic interplay of expectations with actual lived experience. By integrating prospective and retrospective perspectives, this two-phase methodological approach advances the understanding of crowding as a temporally situated and multi-dimensional experience. The study provides a new methodological framework and offers theoretical insights into how perceived risks and consumer vulnerabilities shape interactions in crowded environments.","abstract_html":"Crowding, driven by population growth, urbanisation, industrialisation, and tourism, extends beyond physical density to encompass psychological, social, and cultural dimensions. This thesis with publications, integrates prospective and retrospective perspectives to offer a more comprehensive understanding of perceived crowding (PC). Data from a single two-phase qualitative empirical study is utilised to map lived crowding experiences longitudinally with a particular emphasis on perceived risks and consumer vulnerabilities. Paper 1 introduces the two-phase research method, extending visual research through a sequential photo-elicitation approach to explore pre- and post-experience accounts. This method enables richer contextual insights into crowding as a temporally situated phenomenon. Paper 2 conceptualises crowding awareness (CA), describing how consumers anticipate risks and establish pre-experience expectational standards that guide their responses during crowded experiences. These subjective benchmarks influence how consumers anticipate and mitigate perceived risks and form attitudes towards crowding, typically perceived as a negative but inevitable aspect of popular destinations. Paper 3 examines the implications of PC for consumer vulnerability, distinguishing between categorical and contextual vulnerability. The findings reveal that PC exacerbates dispositional vulnerabilities. Crowding is framed as a socio-psychological construct shaped by cultural norms, tourist thresholds, and the dynamic interplay of expectations with actual lived experience. By integrating prospective and retrospective perspectives, this two-phase methodological approach advances the understanding of crowding as a temporally situated and multi-dimensional experience. The study provides a new methodological framework and offers theoretical insights into how perceived risks and consumer vulnerabilities shape interactions in crowded environments.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Shah, Chetan"],"institution":"ResearchSpace@Auckland","degree_name":"PhD","degree_level":"Doctoral","degree_discipline":"Marketing","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Fernandez, Karen","Smith, Sandra"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025","date_published":"2025","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:03:18Z","subjects":[],"languages":[],"rights":["Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated."],"rights_urls":["https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/2292/73897","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Fernandez, Karen","Smith, Sandra"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Shah, Chetan"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-11-03T18:50:05Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-11-03T18:50:05Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2025"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["ResearchSpace@Auckland"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Marketing"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["PhD"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["The University of Auckland"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated."]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/2292/73897"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Crowding, driven by population growth, urbanisation, industrialisation, and tourism, extends beyond physical density to encompass psychological, social, and cultural dimensions. 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These subjective benchmarks influence how consumers anticipate and mitigate perceived risks and form attitudes towards crowding, typically perceived as a negative but inevitable aspect of popular destinations. Paper 3 examines the implications of PC for consumer vulnerability, distinguishing between categorical and contextual vulnerability. The findings reveal that PC exacerbates dispositional vulnerabilities. Crowding is framed as a socio-psychological construct shaped by cultural norms, tourist thresholds, and the dynamic interplay of expectations with actual lived experience. By integrating prospective and retrospective perspectives, this two-phase methodological approach advances the understanding of crowding as a temporally situated and multi-dimensional experience. The study provides a new methodological framework and offers theoretical insights into how perceived risks and consumer vulnerabilities shape interactions in crowded environments."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Perceived Crowding: Consumers’ Lived Experiences of a Tourist Destination"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Fernandez, Karen","Smith, Sandra"],"dc:creator":["Shah, Chetan"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2025-11-03T18:50:05Z"],"dc:date.available":["2025-11-03T18:50:05Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2025"],"dc:description.abstract":["Crowding, driven by population growth, urbanisation, industrialisation, and tourism, extends beyond physical density to encompass psychological, social, and cultural dimensions. This thesis with publications, integrates prospective and retrospective perspectives to offer a more comprehensive understanding of perceived crowding (PC). Data from a single two-phase qualitative empirical study is utilised to map lived crowding experiences longitudinally with a particular emphasis on perceived risks and consumer vulnerabilities. Paper 1 introduces the two-phase research method, extending visual research through a sequential photo-elicitation approach to explore pre- and post-experience accounts. This method enables richer contextual insights into crowding as a temporally situated phenomenon. Paper 2 conceptualises crowding awareness (CA), describing how consumers anticipate risks and establish pre-experience expectational standards that guide their responses during crowded experiences. These subjective benchmarks influence how consumers anticipate and mitigate perceived risks and form attitudes towards crowding, typically perceived as a negative but inevitable aspect of popular destinations. Paper 3 examines the implications of PC for consumer vulnerability, distinguishing between categorical and contextual vulnerability. The findings reveal that PC exacerbates dispositional vulnerabilities. Crowding is framed as a socio-psychological construct shaped by cultural norms, tourist thresholds, and the dynamic interplay of expectations with actual lived experience. By integrating prospective and retrospective perspectives, this two-phase methodological approach advances the understanding of crowding as a temporally situated and multi-dimensional experience. 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