Drivers of Residents' Livelihood Resilience in Sanjiangyuan National Park, China: From PLS-SEM and Fs/QCA

This study investigates the effects of tourism development perception, adaptive capacity, and transformation capacity on the residents' livelihood resilience in a national park. Using the Yellow River Source Park in Sanjiangyuan National Park, China as a case study, this study simultaneously used the partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fs/QCA) to explore the linear and nonlinear dynamic impacts among the variables. PLS-SEM analysis revealed that adaptive capacity and transformation capacity positively affect livelihood resilience; tourism development perception negatively affects livelihood resilience but positively affects adaptive capacity and transformation capacity. Tourism development perception and adaptive capacity can positively influence livelihood resilience through transformation capacity. The fs/QCA revealed that simple antecedent variables do not constitute a necessary condition for promoting residents' high livelihood resilience, which depends on the conditions combined with another element. The analysis identified two combination paths of high livelihood resilience and three combination paths of low livelihood resilience, where adaptive and transformation capacity are essential for triggering high livelihood resilience, and tourism development perception is a significant driver of low livelihood resilience.