Does corporate social responsibility result in better hotel guest attitudinal and behavioral loyalty?

Abstract

This study aims to determine whether and how investing in corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices results in better attitudinal and behavioral loyalty. It seeks to comprehend the path linking CSR and customer loyalty through customer-company identification (C–CI), trust, and satisfaction as mediators. Partial least squares (PLS)-based structural equation modeling was applied to examine the theoretical model using SMART PLS. The data were collected through online questionnaires from 385 customers of Morocco's three-, four- and five-star hotels. The results conclude that CSR practices significantly contribute to customer loyalty through the mediating components of C–CI and trust. Surprisingly, unlike previous studies, the influence of CSR on customer satisfaction is insignificant. CSR influences customer satisfaction only through C–CI and trust. Moreover, the relationships between mediators, rarely explored by previous researchers, revealed that C–CI contributes to trustworthiness and customer satisfaction. Trust can also generate customer satisfaction.