Social networks and joint/solo activity-travel behavior

Tao Lin, Donggen Wang*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

37 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The social dimension of activity-travel behavior has recently received much research attention. This paper aims to make a contribution to this growing literature by investigating individuals' engagements in joint activities and activity companion choices. Using activity-travel diary data collected in Hong Kong in 2010, this study examines the impact of social network attributes on the decisions between solo and joint activities, and for joint activities, the choices of companions. Chi-square difference tests are used to assess the importance of social network variables in explaining joint activity behavior. We find that the inclusion of social network attributes significantly improves the goodness-of-fit of the model with only socioeconomic variables. Specifically, individuals receiving emotional support and social companionship from family members/relatives are found to more likely undertake joint activities with their family members/relatives; the size of personal social networks is found to be a significant determinant of companion choices for joint activities; and activity companions are found to be significant determinants of travel companions. The findings of this study improve the understanding about activity-travel, especially joint activity-travel decisions.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)18-31
Number of pages14
JournalTransportation Research, Part A: Policy and Practice
Volume68
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2014

Scopus Subject Areas

  • Civil and Structural Engineering
  • Transportation
  • Management Science and Operations Research

User-Defined Keywords

  • Activity companions
  • Hong Kong
  • Joint/solo activities
  • Social networks

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