Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Shi.C., Islamic Azad University, Shiraz, Iran
2
Payame-Noor University, Tehran, Iran.
3
CT.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
10.22067/jrrp.2026.101525.1189
Abstract
Purpose- Despite the growing body of research on rural development, a salient theoretical lacuna remains regarding integrated frameworks capable of capturing the transmission pathways that link tourism development dimensions, namely infrastructural enhancement, economic diversification, and participatory engagement, to livelihood resilience. Social capital functions as the structural glue of rural collectives by enabling community engagement, lowering transaction costs, and converting external tourism windfalls into enduring adaptive capacities, while life satisfaction serves as a vital subjective and evaluative dimension of wellbeing by shaping the cognitive assessments residents make regarding their livelihoods and underpinning long term commitment to community driven initiatives.Although rural tourism can reinforce household capacities to withstand socioeconomic and environmental shocks by fostering multifaceted livelihood opportunities, the present study models its structural associations with household livelihood resilience, focusing specifically on the mediating pathways of life satisfaction and social capital.
Design/methodology/approach- Employing an applied, descriptive analytical methodology, empirical data were collected via a comprehensive field survey. Quantitative evaluations were conducted utilizing Pearson correlation coefficients, regression modeling, and the Sobel test to verify mediating pathways.
Findings- Correlation analyses confirmed significant positive associations between rural tourism dimensions and livelihood resilience (r = 0.50), life satisfaction (r = 0.65), and social capital (r = 0.66). Concurrently, life satisfaction and social capital exhibited robust positive correlations with household livelihood resilience (r = 0.63 and r = 0.50, respectively). Regression outcomes indicated that introducing the mediating constructs into the model sharply reduced the direct standardized impact of tourism on livelihood resilience to 0.034, which failed to reach statistical significance. Sobel test statistics substantiated the validity of indirect paths through life satisfaction (Z = 7.928, p < 0.001) and social capital (Z = 3.198, p < 0.01). Furthermore, the cumulative Variance Accounted For index reached 84.42%, establishing an empirical pattern of full mediation. The overall VAF is 84.42%, indicating full mediation. However, the findings report 79.69% for life satisfaction and 59.88% for social capital. These figures have not been calculated with a common denominator.
Originality/value-These findings demonstrate that rural tourism is not inherently associated with sustainable resilience; rather, its positive associations manifest exclusively alongside the enhancement of subjective well-being and the activation of structural social capital within rural communities.
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