Effects of hotels’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives on green consumer behavior: Investigating the roles of consumer engagement, positive emotions, and altruistic values

Abstract

Recently the hotel industry has been facing immense pressure from several stakeholders, including the government, society, and consumers, to reduce the adverse impact of their activities on the environment. To respond to this pressure, hotels have started implementing various strategies to mitigate their detrimental environmental impact, and one of the strategies is to boost consumers’ green behavior. However, there is limited knowledge about the decision-making process behind consumers’ green behavior in hotels. Hence, this study aims to provide new insights and fill this critical research gap by exploring why and how hotels’ perceived Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives influence consumers’ green behavior. To achieve this objective, the study investigates the mediating role of consumer engagement and positive emotions and the moderating role of altruistic values on the relationship between CSR and consumer engagement and positive emotions. Data is collected through a structured survey of hotel consumers in Pakistan. The results show that consumers’ positive emotions and engagement mediate the effect of hotels’ perceived CSR initiatives on consumers’ green behavior. Moreover, the study confirms that altruistic values moderate the relationship between CSR, positive emotions, and consumer engagement. Theoretical and managerial implications are also discussed at the end of the paper.