Internal Marketing of Sustainability: Nonmanagerial Employees' Perspectives in the Hospitality Sector

ABSTRACT

Sustainable business practices are widely promoted in hospitality, yet a persistent gap persists between sustainability strategies and their implementation in daily operations. This study focuses on the sustainability strategy–implementation gap by examining how nonmanagerial employees, responsible for operational delivery, perceive and implement sustainability initiatives in their workplaces. Drawing on internal marketing (IM) theory and applying the triple bottom line to define sustainability practice, a qualitative study using semistructured surveys with 38 nonmanagerial staff explores how IM practices shape employees' understanding of and engagement with sustainability goals. The findings indicate that although employees are mostly aware of organisational sustainability initiatives, implementation is hindered by misalignment between strategic intentions, communication, timing, employees' experiences and constraints. The study contributes theoretically by foregrounding nonmanagerial employees' perspectives on the sustainability strategy–implementation gap and practically by showing how IM can be leveraged to strengthen employee engagement and organisational alignment with triple bottom line sustainability goals.