The Effect of Helping Behavior on Tourists' Buying Behavior towards Rural Handicrafts (Case study: Oramanat Takht Rural Handicrafts)

Despite the importance of handicrafts in the rural economy, these industries have lost their initial position in many parts of the country, including the village of Oramanat Takht. One of the solutions to this problem is to improve the handicraft market. Given that tourists are the main buyers of handicrafts in touristic rural areas, investigating their buying behavior can help improve the handicraft market. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the role of factors related to helping behavior on tourists' buying behavior towards rural handicrafts. The statistical population of the study was tourists who had traveled to Oramanat Takht village in Sarvabad county located in Kurdistan province in June of 2020 (N= 300). Using a table of Karajsi and Morgan and Convenience Sampling method 173 tourists were selected as sample. The data-gathering tool was a questionnaire, which its validity was evaluated in three ways: Form, construct (By university professors) and discriminant; and its reliability were investigated through the composite reliability and Cronbach's alpha Using SmartPLS software. The results of data analysis showed that the factors related to helping behavior (Empathic concern, Perceived similarity, Local patriotism, and Social concern) have positive and significant impact of on tourists' attitude towards rural handicrafts. In addition, attitude towards handicrafts had a positive and significant effect on the intention and buying behavior of tourist towards rural handicrafts. Therefore, it is suggested that the necessary platform be provided to stimulate the helping behavior of tourists in order to support rural handicrafts through various media.