From motivation to action: explaining hotel employees' pro-environmental behavior through the Fogg Behavioral Model
Durgham Darwazeh, Hwansuk Chris Choi, Jeffrey Wilson, Amelia ClarkePurpose
Although hotels' environmental management practices (EMP) are frequently examined as direct predictors of employees’ pro-environmental behavior (PEB), their role within the behavioral activation process has received limited attention. Drawing on the Fogg Behavioral Model (FBM), this study examines how motivation and perceived ability are associated with PEB through a behavioral activation process in which EMP functions as contextual cues. It also compares the relative influence of extrinsic motivation (EM) or intrinsic motivation (IM) within this process.
Design/methodology/approach
A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 337 hotel employees working in environmentally sustainability-oriented hotels across the United States and Canada. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed to examine the relationships among motivation, perceived ability, EMP and PEB.
Findings
Both EM and IM were significantly associated with PEB, with IM demonstrating the stronger relationship. The findings further suggest a sequential pathway in which motivation is positively associated with perceived ability, perceived ability is positively associated with responsiveness to EMP, and EMP is positively associated with PEB.
Research limitations/implications
The findings suggest that hotel managers should design interventions that strengthen employees' IM, as it plays a stronger role in shaping perceived ability. Managers should also view EMP as contextual cues that reinforce employees' responsiveness to environmental initiatives.
Originality/value
This study extends the application of the FBM to hospitality context by providing a behavioral activation framework for explaining employees' PEB. It reconceptualizes EMP as contextual cues rather than solely as direct antecedents of behavior and demonstrates how motivation, perceived ability and EMP operate together to foster employees' PEB.