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This study aims to investigate the antecedents of local residents’ heritage resource protection and conservation responsibility behaviors that were identified based on the conceptual premises of value orientation and identity theories for the purpose of providing further insight into the impact of residents’ identity on their responsibility behaviors.

The proposed model explores the impacts of place identity, place satisfaction and personal norms on local residents’ heritage resource protection and conservation responsibility behaviors, which was tested following a two-step structural equation modeling process using data (N = 221) collected from a very popular heritage tourism destination, Phoenix Old Town, in China.

Findings show that value orientation and identity theories provide strong conceptual frameworks for the relationships among place identity, place satisfaction and personal norms and their impacts on heritage responsibility behavior.

This research identifies critical factors influencing residents’ heritage responsibility behaviors in China. Improving residents’ identification and satisfaction with a place can have positive impacts on their understanding of heritage protection responsibility and their intention to take responsible actions for heritage resource protection and conservation.

This study addresses a research gap regarding residents’ role in the protection and conservation of heritage resources through developing and empirically testing a theoretical model that incorporates residents’ identity and responsibility perspectives.