Industrial tourism: moderating effects of commitment and readiness on the relationship between tourist experiences and perceived souvenir value

Purpose The purpose of this study is to propose that in-factory experiences transfer into souvenir evaluation, and the process is moderated by customers’ commitment and readiness cumulated in daily life. Design/methodology/approach The study collected data from 398 tourists of tea leaves tourism factories. Findings The results reveal that interactive experience is a dominant determinant of perceived souvenir value. Interactive and hedonic experiences reinforce each other to create perceived souvenir value. Low commitment diverts customers to emphasize hedonic experience, whereas low readiness constraints customers’ resources, and hence, depreciates value delivered from interactive experience. Research limitations/implications Intrinsic hedonic values are weaker predictors than extrinsic ones for perceived value in a leisure tourism setting. Merchandize quality is perceived and judged together with interpersonal interactions in the industrial tourism contexts, instead of objectively evaluating by customers themselves. Practical implications The experience or credence attribute of tea leaves is difficult for ordinary customers to evaluate, leaving most of the consumption value to be fostered by the firm. Perceived souvenir value could transfer to routinized purchase behavior, it is more imperative turning initial tourists into committed loyal customers by relationship management strategies than merely creating hedonic surroundings. Originality/value The study contributions are twofold: first, the study extends the influence of tourist experience to the perceived souvenir value; second, the study verifies the interaction effects of in-factory experiences and customer roles on perceived souvenir value.