Social crowding influences cultural consumptiont through  Chinese calligraphy-inspired tourism product packaging

Social crowding influences cultural consumptiont through Chinese calligraphy-inspired tourism product packaging | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Social crowding influences cultural consumptiont through Chinese calligraphy-inspired tourism product packaging Huijing Gao, Mengke Luo This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9121045/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 6 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Increasingly crowded retail environments influence consumers’ purchase intentions; however, limited attention has been paid to whether social crowding also affects culturally symbolic consumption. Drawing upon theories from consumer behavior and social psychology, this study examines how different levels of social crowding influence tourists’ preferences and purchasing decisions for tourism products featuring Chinese calligraphy-inspired packaging. We propose a conceptual model in which calligraphy packaging serves as a culturally embedded visual cue, while perceived value and national identity function as mediating mechanisms, and social crowding operates as a contextual moderator. Three scenario-based experiments were conducted to test the proposed model. The results indicate that Chinese calligraphy packaging significantly enhances purchase intention by increasing both perceived value and national identity, with perceived value exerting a stronger mediating effect. Moreover, social crowding strengthens the positive influence of calligraphy packaging on perceived value and purchase intention, although its moderating effect on national identity is not significant. This study contributes to the literature by revealing the psychological mechanisms underlying the influence of cultural visual design on consumer behavior and by extending social crowding theory to the context of culturally symbolic consumption. Practically, the findings provide managerial insights for tourism product design and marketing strategies in crowded retail environments.From a sustainability perspective, the findings indicate that culturally embedded packaging can enhance the perceived value of locally meaningful products and strengthen consumers’ engagement with cultural heritage. These effects are relevant to broader sustainability objectives, particularly SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities). Social Crowding Tourism Product Marketing Calligraphy Packaging Consumer Behavior Cultural Consumption Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files 202603036.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 22 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 22 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 20 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 15 Apr, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 14 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 14 Apr, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9121045","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":629326309,"identity":"5583bed6-d7d1-4875-a093-548d00e87951","order_by":0,"name":"Huijing Gao","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shenzhen University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Huijing","middleName":"","lastName":"Gao","suffix":""},{"id":629326311,"identity":"953a9fc9-c908-4b29-bb18-1a4e55ba7ab8","order_by":1,"name":"Mengke Luo","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA5ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACNvnDBwwSftjIMTYzH3yQUFFDWAufBFtCwceeNGPm9rZkgwdnjhHWIifBY/BxBtvhxPaeM2aSD1uYiXCYdFviZh6ew4m9M3LMKhIb2Bj427sT8GuROXzYmMci3XjmjLSyG4k7ZBgkzpzdgF8LQ1qaMQ+PtezGGcnbbiSeYWMwkMglpCXH/DcPGzPj/hsJZgWJbcxEaJHIMTCcweas2NhzxIyBOC08xxIMQIHMCAxkiYQzx3gI+kW+vRkRlR9/VNTI8bf34teCAXhIUz4KRsEoGAWjACsAAOz6TT5yAuZcAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Dongguan university of Technology","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mengke","middleName":"","lastName":"Luo","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-14 08:53:55","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9121045/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9121045/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":108491352,"identity":"832e9e1b-f12f-4f91-ad51-d5f1d2066550","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-05 09:53:27","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":580023,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SocialCrowdingInfluenceCulturalConsumptionPreferencesEvidencefromChineseCalligraphyInspiredPackaging.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9121045/v1_covered_eb701d9f-4751-46a1-97bc-582aaad18604.pdf"},{"id":108050888,"identity":"e910b980-f64a-4556-b149-4b123d87b304","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-28 21:25:08","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":238423,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"202603036.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9121045/v1/8e3a86af6ef1ecc29f5bb4fd.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Social crowding influences cultural consumptiont through Chinese calligraphy-inspired tourism product packaging","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"discover-sustainability","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"disu","sideBox":"Learn more about [Discover Sustainability](https://www.springer.com/43621)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Discover Sustainability","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Discover Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Social Crowding, Tourism Product Marketing, Calligraphy Packaging, Consumer Behavior, Cultural Consumption","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9121045/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9121045/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eIncreasingly crowded retail environments influence consumers\u0026rsquo; purchase intentions; however, limited attention has been paid to whether social crowding also affects culturally symbolic consumption. 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