The role of internet media effects in the sustainable development of animal conservation institutions during the post-pandemic era: Stimulus-organism-response paradigm

The coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak has led cities worldwide to implement lockdowns and stay-at-home orders, which has caused a sudden cessation of revenue generation from ticket sales at animal conservation institutions. Accordingly, the cost of feeding and caring for the animals remains unsustainable, and the threat of another outbreak and lockdowns lingers. To this end, the present study investigates the effectiveness of internet media for the sustainable development of animal conservation institutions (e.g., zoos) in the post-pandemic era. A total of 321 actual visitors' responses were collected through an online survey, and PLS-SEM was used for the data analysis. The stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) theory was used as the framework to explore the effects of content characteristics and internet celebrities in animal conservation institutions on visitors' internal mechanisms and their behavioral responses. Stimulus factors were internet content characteristics and animal celebrities' attributes. Organism factors included visitors' internal mechanisms, such as the attitude toward the ecological environment, trust, and hedonic values. Critical behavioral responses of subscribing to the official channels, visiting the institutions, and making donations were considered. The findings confirm the influence of internet media (content attributes and celebrity attributes) as an antecedent to individual organisms, which in turn leads to spillover effects such as donations. Implications for academic research and practice are provided.