Improving consumer satisfaction in green hotels: The roles of perceived warmth, perceived competence, and CSR motive

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Abstract

Research on consumer satisfaction with green hotels has yielded mixed results; some studies have shown a positive relationship with CSR initiatives and others have shown a negative relationship. To reconcile these two opposing views, we examine the mediating effects of perceived warmth and competence as potential psychological mechanisms explaining consumers’ reactions to green hotels. We also investigate the moderating role of firm motives in influencing consumers’ reactions to green initiatives. Results from Study 1 indicate that when service delivery is successful, consumer satisfaction is higher for green (vs. non-green) hotels. However, the advantage for green hotels disappears when guests experience service failures. Results from Study 2 show that consumer satisfaction with green hotels is enhanced when a firm engages in green initiatives for public-serving (vs. self-serving) motives. Overall, the results show that perceived warmth and competence mediate the relationship between service outcomes and consumer satisfaction and behavioral intentions.

Introduction

The hospitality industry has become increasingly involved in corporate social responsibility (CSR) in recent years. Many hotels have implemented numerous CSR initiatives to serve local communities, improve employees’ well-being, and conserve the environment (Bohdanowicz and Zientara, 2009, Lee and Heo, 2009). Being viewed as a green hotel is often a desired outcome of a hotel's CSR strategy. By participating in green certification programs, such as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), hotels intend to “promote and practice energy efficiency, conservation, and recycling, while at the same time providing hotel consumers with a sustainable, clean, and healthy product” (Millar and Baloglu, 2011).

However, the impact of being green on consumer satisfaction is equivocal. One literature stream shows that green initiatives lead to greater consumer satisfaction (Lee and Heo, 2009, Luo and Bhattacharya, 2006) and return intentions (Berezan et al., 2013). On the other hand, Robinot and Giannelloni (2010) and Carbon Trust (2011) have suggested that hotels should not inform consumers about their environmental initiatives, because consumers doubt their efficacy and therefore, lower their evaluations. Chong and Verma (2013) also recently found that no booking advantage is gained by going green; while green programs might attract consumers who support such efforts, other consumers might worry that their comfort will be sacrificed at hotels that cut back on resources. Therefore, promoting an environmentally friendly image while avoiding accusations of “green washing” is a key challenge faced by hotels with CSR programs (Chan, 2013a, Chan, 2013b, Chun and Giebelhausen, 2012).

In the present research, we attempt to shed light on this paradox by introducing the concepts of perceived warmth and competence, which are critical to understanding how consumers perceive green hotels. Abundant research in social psychology (i.e., Asch, 1946, Lydon et al., 1988, Rosenberg et al., 1968, Wojciszke et al., 1998) and organizational behavior (Cuddy et al., 2011) has shown that people judge others on the dimensions of warmth (i.e., good-naturedness, trustworthiness, tolerance, friendliness, and sincerity) and competence (i.e., capability, skillfulness, intelligence, and confidence) (Cuddy et al., 2008, Fiske et al., 2007). In this study, we propose that these two dimensions are the underlying mechanisms explaining consumer satisfaction in the context of two service outcomes at green hotels: successful service delivery and service failure.

According to attribution theory (Kelley, 1967), consumers are likely to make inferences about a firm's motives for engaging in CSR. Previous research has uncovered two primary types of motives: self-serving (e.g., to increase profits, sales or the profile of a specific brand) and public-serving (e.g., to assist with community development or raise awareness for a specific cause) (Becker-Olsen et al., 2006, Ellen et al., 2006, Vlachos et al., 2009). These two motives significantly influence consumers’ attitudes, purchase intentions, and word of mouth (Becker-Olsen et al., 2006, Kang et al., 2012, Vlachos et al., 2009). In this study, we propose that perceived firm motive will moderate the relationship between service outcomes and consumer satisfaction in green hotels.

There is ample evidence to show that consumer satisfaction drives behavioral intentions (e.g., Spreng et al., 1995, Parasuraman et al., 1988, Burton et al., 2003, Han and Kim, 2010, Lee et al., 2010). To enhance the managerial implications of our findings, we included behavioral intentions as an outcome variable in our model.

The objectives of this research are: (1) to verify the moderating effect of CSR (green hotel) on consumer satisfaction; (2) to examine the mediating effects of perceived warmth and competence as potential psychological mechanisms explaining consumers’ reactions to green hotels; (3) to investigate the moderating role of firm motives in influencing consumers’ reactions to green initiatives.

This research makes several contributions to the CSR and hospitality literature. First, we contribute to the research on CSR programs by examining consumer satisfaction with green hotels across two types of service outcomes and two types of firm motives. Second, we introduce perceived warmth and perceived competence as a psychological mechanism in explaining the impact of green initiatives on consumer satisfaction. The findings of this study will help hotel managers who engage in green initiatives to understand the influence of perceived warmth, competence, and firm motive on consumer satisfaction. In the following sections, we present relevant theoretical background and develop our hypotheses. We then describe our experimental designs, data analysis techniques and results. Finally, we discuss conclusions, implications, and limitations of the study.

Section snippets

Green hotel and non-green hotel

Green hotels or eco-friendly hotels refer to lodging establishments that have made a commitment to various ecologically sound practices such as saving water, saving energy, and reducing solid waste (Manaktola and Jauhari, 2007). Given the popularity of the Green movement, many chain-affiliated hotels have adapted green initiatives to conserve natural resources, to reduce waste, to reuse and recycle materials, to educate people, and to be involved in community activities (Rahman et al., 2012,

Pretest and pilot studies

We conducted one pretest and two pilot studies with a total of 156 undergraduate students (Npretest = 49, Npilot study1 = 75, Npilot study2 = 32). We adapted service failure scenarios from Smith et al. (1999), and based green hotel scenarios on attributes suggested by Millar and Baloglu (2011). All measurement scales and scenarios are provided in Appendices.

In the pretest, participants were asked to rate their level of agreement (1 = strongly disagree; 7 = strongly agree) with statements (e.g., I believe

Discussion

This research contributes to the CSR and hospitality literature in several ways. First, we extend previous research by examining consumer satisfaction with green hotels and non-green hotels across two types of service outcomes. Second, we propose that perceived warmth and perceived competence are the underlying psychological mechanism explaining the impact of green hotel on satisfaction. Third, we show that firm motives in engaging in CRS initiatives influence consumer satisfaction.

The results

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