Boosting positive WOM in the green hospitality: the roles of green image, green satisfaction, green trust, green loyalty, environmental knowledge
Quoc Loc Nguyen, Ngoc-Nhu Ta, Kim-Lim Tan, Phong Nguyen-QuangPurpose
This study was grounded in the principles of the Stimulus–Organism–Response (SOR) model, with the aim of examining the influence of green image on customers' positive word-of-mouth (PWOM) in the context of hospitality industry. Along with the aforementioned objective, the paper also aims to test the mediating role of green satisfaction, green trust, green loyalty as well as the moderating effects of environmental knowledge.
Design/methodology/approach
A mix-method research design was utilized. A qualitative research method (Study 1) was employed through six semi-structured interviews to refine the questionnaire and explore two additional items related to the green image variable. The subsequent quantitative phase (Study 2) yielded 255 valid responses, collected from individual customers at four- and five-star hotels.
Findings
Green image positively influenced green satisfaction, green trust and green loyalty, each of which positively predicted PWOM. The three constructs mediated the green image–PWOM relationship, while the sequential green satisfaction–green trust–green loyalty pathway was significant but modest. Environmental knowledge strengthened the green loyalty–PWOM relationship.
Originality/value
The study specifies an ordered relationship-development mechanism within SOR, distinguishes sequential from individual mediation, and identifies environmental knowledge as a boundary condition in converting green loyalty into customer advocacy.