Entrepreneurs' contribution to community happiness capital from community-based tourism: A causal relationship model study

This study aims to examine the influence of creative leadership on community happiness capital development, investigate the role of participative management in enhancing community happiness capital, and explore the impact of community happiness capital development on improving quality of life. A quantitative research design was employed, with a sample of 260 entrepreneurs involved in community-based tourism in Phatthalung Province, Thailand. Data were collected through questionnaires, and structural equation modeling was used for hypothesis testing. The results indicate that the proposed model, examining the causal relationship and effect of community happiness capital development, fits the empirical data well (chi-square = 47.775, p-value = 0.563, chi-square/df = 0.955, CFI = 1.000, GFI = 0.973, AGFI = 0.951, RMSEA = 0.000). The findings suggest that these insights can be applied to policy development to support the growth and sustainability of community enterprises, contributing to local economic stimulation. (c) 2024 The Authors. Published by IASE. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).