A schema‑based dual‑path model linking service innovation to revisit intention with proactive personality as a...

Service innovation is a key driver for theme park development, yet the effectiveness of innovation strategies aimed at attracting tourists has remained inconsistent. Extant research often treats service innovation as a homogeneous stimulus, failing to reveal how different innovation cues activate tourists' cognition in distinct ways. Furthermore, tourists are frequently viewed as a homogeneous group, overlooking the impact of individual psychological differences among recipients. To uncover the underlying mechanisms of this phenomenon, this study developed a moderated dual-path model grounded in schema theory and similarityattraction theory, conducting two-wave time-lagged surveys among theme park tourists. We found that delivery and interaction innovation simultaneously enhance perceived warmth and competence, offering innovation primarily boosts perceived competence, and servicescape innovation mainly elevates perceived warmth. Perceived competence directly increases revisit intention, whereas perceived warmth operates indirectly through social bonding. Furthermore, proactive personality has a unique moderating effect: it enhances the influence of interaction innovation on competence while diminishing the correlation between offering innovation and competence. These results indicate that innovation efficacy is constrained by both internal psychological pathways and individual traits. Theoretically, this study advances schema theory by uncovering the asymmetry between perceived warmth and competence in transforming service innovation outcomes. Practically, the results provide a strategic framework for firms to optimize resource allocation, implement differentiated operations, and cultivate relational assets.