How occupational embeddedness contributes to tour guides’ commitment and citizenship behaviour–a mixed-method enquiry

Despite that tour guides are important but unstable tourism workers, a few studies have looked into the well-being of the tour guiding workforce by understanding their affective commitment and citizenship behaviour. Based on the theory of embeddedness and by a mixed-method approach, this study fills this gap by probing into how the three dimensions of occupational embeddedness–fit, link and sacrifice influence tour guides’ affective commitment, and the consequent citizenship behaviour. Thirty interviews conducted from 2021 to 2023 confirmed the applicability and importance of the three dimensions, with rich contextual details. A follow-up questionnaire survey (N = 332) implemented in 2024 further revealed that tour guides’ occupational embeddedness positively influences their affective commitment, which effectively triggers their citizenship behaviour. The study sheds light on the role of embeddedness in keeping tour guides’ heart. The conclusion provides a useful reference for tourism enterprises in managing and retaining the tour guide workforce.