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Corporate images and customer behavioral intentions in an environmentally certified context: Promoting environmental sustainability in the hospitality industry
Author(s) -
Martínez Patricia,
Herrero Ángel,
GómezLópez Raquel
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
corporate social responsibility and environmental management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.519
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1535-3966
pISSN - 1535-3958
DOI - 10.1002/csr.1754
Subject(s) - marketing , business , sustainability , certification , hospitality industry , hospitality , context (archaeology) , tourism , environmentally friendly , management , economics , ecology , paleontology , political science , law , biology
Growing environmental awareness has made customers change their attitudes and increasingly demand that the hospitality industry provides products and services that are environmentally friendly. This sector faces increasing pressure to operate in a more ecofriendly manner given its negative influence on the natural environment. Extant research demonstrates that sustainable tourism can be promoted through environmental certifications. However, little attention has been paid to the relevance of customer perceptions about these schemes and their influence on customer behavioral intentions. So that, this study attempts to explore the conditions under which perceived green image leads to favorable customer behavioral intentions towards environmentally certified hotels by considering the mediating effects of functional and emotional images. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from hotel customers in Spain. The results indicate that green image serves as a predictor of functional image, which in turn is linked to customer behavioral intentions. This shows that the evaluation of environmental issues influences the assessment of cognitive aspects, although not the direct evaluation of affective aspects. Consequently, green image associations directly influence the cognitive responses of consumers but not their emotions. Therefore, consumers will evaluate a hotel's functional image not only by considering traditional attributes but also by taking into account environmental issues. These findings suggest that hotel companies should work to develop a green positioning strategy developing products and services possessing both greenness and high‐value attributes.