Purpose: This paper aims to examine whether the greater importance assigned to perceived protection in tourists' ride-hailing choice reflects genuine behavioral reconfiguration or measurement artifacts by assessing the roles of measurement equivalence, sample composition, and contextual effects on mode choice.
Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative research design was adopted using data from 2,000 tourists interviewed in eight Brazilian state capitals. The analyses included measurement invariance testing across groups, logistic regression models controlling for sample composition through propensity score methods, and robustness analyses to assess the stability of the findings.
Findings: The results indicate that part of the observed modulation in the importance attributed to perceived protection is explained by measurement and sample composition effects. However, a residual contextual effect remains, consistent with the selective activation of protection predicted by Protection Motivation Theory. Differences between domestic and international tourists decrease as travel experience increases, suggesting that informational asymmetry and situational learning provide a better explanation than stable cultural differences.
Practical implications: The findings provide guidance for destination managers and ride-hailing platforms by indicating that initiatives aimed at reducing uncertainty, strengthening perceived protection, and improving information provided to tourists may support safer and more efficient mobility decisions.
Originality/value: This study advances the tourism mobility literature by demonstrating that observed differences between groups may simultaneously reflect contextual effects and measurement artifacts, highlighting the importance of integrating measurement equivalence procedures into studies of tourist mode choice.
Research limitations: The findings are based on tourists interviewed in Brazilian state capitals and on ride-hailing mode choice. Future research should examine other tourism settings, transport modes, and longitudinal designs to extend the generalizability of the results.
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Turismo: Visão e Ação, linked to the Graduate Program in Tourism and Hospitality - Master's and Ph.D., is a scientific journal published in a continuous flow system, with an interdisciplinary and international scope. According to Qualis/CAPES criteria (2021-2024), it is classified as 'A4' in the fields of Administration, Accounting Sciences, and Tourism. Registered with ISSN number 1983-7151, Tourismo: Visão e Ação began its activities in 1998 with printed publications in English and Portuguese. In 2008, it transitioned to an online publication, expanding its reach to a broader audience. It maintains a policy of being an open-access journal without submission or access fees. The abbreviated title for the journal is Tur., Visão e Ação, commonly used in bibliographies, footnotes, references, and bibliographic captions.
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