Green image and consumers’ word-of-mouth intention in the green hotel industry: The moderating effect of Millennials

Abstract

Abstract Research on the word-of-mouth intention of consumers has received increasing attention in hospitality research. However, little research has explored the effect of green image on the word-of-mouth intention of consumers and how this effect was mediated by green satisfaction and green trust. Based on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework, this research examined the relationship between green image and the word-of-mouth intention of consumers in the Chinese green hotel industry and explored the mediating effects of green satisfaction and green trust. Considering that Millennials (a large and influential generation born in the 1980s and late 1990s) are extremely concerned about green issues, more concerned about the environment than previous generations, and a powerful source of word-of-mouth about products and services, this research also examined the moderating effect of Millennials. The questionnaire survey method was used to collect data from 324 respondents with the help of travel agencies to test these relationships. The results indicated that the green image of green hotels strongly influences consumer green satisfaction and green trust, and consumer green satisfaction has a significant effect on green trust. The consumers’ green satisfaction and green trust are positively related to their intention to recommend green hotels to individuals around them. Furthermore, significant moderating effects of Millennials were found in all paths between the investigated variables in the proposed model. The results also showed that female tourists are more likely than male tourists to recommend green hotels. The implications of these findings were discussed, and limitations and future research directions were suggested.