Ecological systems theory and research focus on describingand explaining the thoughts and actions of individuals and groups within specific contexts of their lives. This article applies ecological systems theory to examine the contextual facilitating and constraining factors in the thoughts and actions of individuals regarding work, leisure, and travel alternatives. The article presents the results of a case research study of five Australian households with thought protocol data on these households’ lived experiences in work, leisure, and travel, and learning how they compare “ noncomparable” leisure expenditure options; the discussion leads to advancing macroecological and microecological systems theory in leisure travel behavior. The article includes suggestions for future research and implications for tourism marketing strategy.
Adaval, R., and R. S. Wyer (1998). “The Role of Narratives in Consumer Information Processing”. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 7 (3): 207-245.
2.
Allen, Douglas E. (2002). “Toward a Theory of Consumer Choice as Sociohistorically Shaped Practical Experience: The Fits-like-a Glove (FLAG) Framework”. Journal of Consumer Research, 28 (4): 515-532.
3.
Bargh, John A. (2002). “Losing Consciousness: Automatic Influences on Consumer Judgment, Behavior, and Motivation”. Journal of Consumer Research, 29: 280-285.
4.
Beatty, Joy E., and William R. Torbert (2003). “The False Duality of Work and Leisure”. Journal of Management Inquiry, 12 (3): 239-252.
5.
Bergadaà, Michelle (1990). “The Role of Time in the Action of the Consumer”. Journal of Consumer Research, 17 (4): 289-302.
6.
Brennan, Dan G., and Arch G. Woodside (1982). “Cooperative National Advertising”. Journal of Travel Research, 20 (Spring): 30-34.
7.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1986). “Recent Advances in Research on the Ecology of Human Development”. In Development as Action in Context: Problem Behavior and Normal Youth Development, edited by R. K. Silbereisen, K. Eyferth, and G. Rudinger. New York: Springer, pp. 287-309.
8.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1992). “Ecological Systems Theory”. In Six Theories of Child Development: Revised Formulations and Current Ideas, edited by R. Vasta. London: Jessica Kingsley, 187-249.
9.
Corfman, Kim P. (1991). “Comparability and Comparison Levels Used in Choices among Consumer Products”. Journal of Marketing Research, 28 (3): 368-374.
10.
Cotte, June, and S. Ratneshwar (2001). “Timestyle and Leisure Decisions”. Journal of Leisure Research, 33 (4): 396-409.
11.
Cotte, June, S. Ratneshwar, and David Glen Mick (2004). “The Times of Their Lives: Phenomenological and Metaphysical Characteristics of Consumer Timestyles”. Journal of Consumer Research, 31 (3): 333-345.
12.
Feldman, Laurence P., and Jacob Hornik (1981). “The Use of Time: An Integrated Conceptual Model”. Journal of Consumer Research, 7 (1): 407-419.
13.
Floyd, M. F., K. J. Shinew, M. A. McGuire, and F. P. Noe (1994). “Race, Class, and Leisure Activity Preferences: Marginality and Ethnicity Revisited”. Journal of Leisure Research, 26 (2): 158-173.
14.
Hall, Edward T. (1983). The Dance of Life. New York: Anchor Press-Doubleday.
15.
Hirschman, Elizabeth C. (1986). “Humanistic Inquiry in Marketing Research: Philosophy, Method, and Criteria”. Journal of Marketing Research, 23: 237-249.
16.
Hirschman, Elizabeth C. (1987). “Theoretical Perspectives of Time Use: Implications for Consumer Research”. Research in Consumer Behavior, 2: 55-81.
17.
Jackson, E. L. (1997). “In the Eye of the Beholder: A Comment on Samdahl and Jekubovich (1997), ‘A Critique of Leisure Constraints: Comparative Analysis and Understandings’”. Journal of Leisure Research, 29 (4): 458-468.
18.
Johnson, Michael (1984). “Consumer Choice Strategies for Comparing Noncomparable Alternatives”. Journal of Consumer Research, 16 (December): 300-309.
19.
Johnson, Michael (1988). “Comparability and Hierarchical Processing in Multialternative Choice”. Journal of Consumer Research, 15 (December): 303-314.
20.
Johnson, Michael (1989). The Differential Processing of Product Category and Noncomparable Choice Alternatives.” Journal of Consumer Research, 16 (December): 300-309.
21.
Kahneman, D., P. Slovic, and A. Tversky (1982). Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
22.
Lewis, David, and Drew J. Weigert (1981). “The Structures and Meanings of Social Time”. Social Forces, 60 (December): 432-457.
23.
March, Roger, and Arch G. Woodside (2005). Travellers’ Plans and Behaviours. London: CABI.
24.
McCracken, Grant (1988). The Long Interview. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
25.
McGrath, J. E., and J. R. Kelly (1986). Time and Human Interaction: Toward a Social Psychology of Time. New York: Guildford.
26.
Phillip, S. F. (1998). “Race and Gender Differences in Adolescent Peer Group Approval of Leisure Activities”. Journal of Leisure Research, 30 (2): 214-232.
27.
Ragin, Charles C. (1989). The Comparative Method: Moving beyond Qualitative and Quantitative Strategies. Berkeley: University of California Press.
28.
Ransome, P. (1996). The Work Paradigm. Aldershot, UK: Avebury.
29.
Raymore, Leslie (2002). “Facilitators to Leisure”. Journal of Leisure Research, 34 (1): 37-51.
30.
Rhoads, Christopher (2002). “Short Work Hours Undercut Europe in Economic Drive”. Wall Street Journal, August 8, A1-A1, A6-A6.
31.
Schor, J. B. (1991). The Overworked American. New York: Basic Books.
32.
Scitovsky, Tibor (1992). The Joyless Economy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
33.
Stanley, Thomas J., and William D. Danko (1996). The Millionaire Next Door. New York: Pocket Books.
34.
Stebbins, R. A. (1992). Amateurs, Professionals, and Serious Leisure. Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press.
35.
Stebbins, R. A. (1997). “Serious Leisure and Well Being”. In Work, Leisure, and Well-Being, edited by J. T. Haworth. London: Routledge, 117-130.
36.
Tversky, Amos, and Daniel Kahneman (1984). “Extensional versus Intuitive Reasoning: The Conjunction Fallacy and Probability Judgment”. Psychological Review, 91: 293-315.
37.
Weick, Karl E. (1987). “Perspectives in Action in Organizations”. In Handbook of Organizational Behavior, edited by W. Lorsch. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 10-28.
38.
Weick, Karl E. (1995). Sensemaking in Organizations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
39.
Wilson, Timothy D. (2002). Strangers to Ourselves: Discovering Adaptive Unconscious. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press.
40.
Woodside, Arch G. (2004a). “Advancing Means-End Chains by Incorporating Heider's Balance Theory and Fournier's Consumer-Brand Relationship Typology”. Psychology & Marketing, 21 (4): 279-294.
41.
Woodside, Arch G. (2004b). “Advancing from Subjective to Confirmatory Personal Introspection in Consumer Research”. Psychology& Marketing, 21 (12): 987-1010.
42.
Woodside, Arch G. (2005). Market-Driven Thinking. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
43.
Woodside, Arch G., and Jean-Charles Chebat (2001). “Updating Heider's Balance Theory in Consumer Behavior”. Psychology& Marketing, 18 (11): 475-496.
44.
Woodside, Arch G., and Chris Dubelaar (2002). “A General Theory of Tourism Consumption Systems: A Conceptual Framework and an Empirical Exploration”. Journal of Travel Research, 41 (November): 120-132.
45.
Wright, Peter (1975). “Consumer Choice Strategies: Simplifying vs. Optimizing”. Journal of Marketing Research, 12 (1): 60-67.
46.
Zaltman, Gerald (2003). How Consumers Think. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
47.
Zerubavel, Eviatar (1981). Hidden Rhythms: Schedules and Calendars in Social Life. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
