Investigating the Critical Factors That Shape Customers’ pro-environmental behavior in luxury hotels

Abstract

ABSTRACT In the last few years, there has been a shift in consumer behavior toward companies adopting sustainability practices, but luxury hoteliers have not been proactive in adopting such practices. This research investigates the critical factors that impact consumers’ pro-environmental consumption behavior toward luxury hotels. In Study 1, data was collected using projective techniques (n = 46), and in Study 2, an online questionnaire-based survey (n = 272) was conducted with users of luxury hotels. Broadly, the results of Study 1 indicate that consumers associate sustainable luxury hotels with environment-friendly practices, and prefer them over others to experience guilt-free consumption. The results of Study 2 show that pro-environmental values of consumers impact their consumption behavior, both directly and indirectly through pro-environmental self-identity, psychological ownership, environmental certification, and marketer-generated content. The study contributes to the literature by identifying key factors impacting pro-environmental behavior using psychological ownership and cue utilization theories in the luxury hospitality field.