SUSTAINABLE BOOKING INTENTIONS AND BEHAVIORS IN CERTIFIED GREEN HOTELS: AN INTEGRATED MODEL OF DETERMINANTS, MODERATORS, AND THE INTENTION-BEHAVIOR GAP IN THAILAND
Abstract
Purpose: This study proposes and evaluates an integrated model to explore factors influencing sustainable booking intentions and the intention-behavior gap in the Thai certified green hotel industry. It contributes to the field of sustainable tourism by building and verifying an integrated model to examine the drivers of sustainable booking intentions and the intention-behavior gap in the certified green hotel industry in Thailand, thereby addressing the persistent intention-behavior gap in sustainable tourism. Methods: The study used a quantitative approach and applied Partial Least Squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) with a sample of 382 domestic and international tourists. Findings: All direct hypotheses were confirmed, and Social Influence proved to be the strongest predictor of Sustainable Booking Intention (β = 0.342, p < .001). The relationships among all four antecedents and booking intention were significantly enhanced by the mediator Green Trust, with the strongest moderating effect observed in the relationship between environmental attitude and booking intention (β = 0.218, p < .01). The results showed that, as predicted, price sensitivity had a negative moderating effect on the relationship between Perceived Green Value and intention (β = -0.174, p < .01) and on the relationship between intention and behavior (β = -0.203, p < .001). Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior, value-belief-norm theory, and trust-signaling theory, the study found that Environmental Attitude, Perceived Green Value, Health Consciousness, and Social Influence have a positive impact on Sustainable Booking Intentions. Conclusion/Recommendation: The findings, grounded in the Theory of Planned Behavior, value-belief-norm theory, and trust-signaling theory, suggest that Environmental Attitude, Perceived Green Value, Health Consciousness, and Social Influence should be instilled to influence Sustainable Booking Intentions. The model also assumes that Green Trust boosts the effects of all four antecedents on booking intentions, and that Price Sensitivity makes the booking intention-behavior relationship less likely to occur and the value-intention relationship less likely to occur. Originality/Value: The study has three scientific contributions in that it models the intention-behavior transition within an integrated moderated mediation framework, identifies and clarifies intervening steps in the intention-behavior gap (in the special case of the relationship between sustainable tourism and Green Trust, through the moderating role of Price Sensitivity); and situates Green Trust within the framework of the Green Hotel Plus certification scheme, among those recognized by the GSTC in Thailand. Hotel managers, marketers, and policymakers are given practical implications, including communicating hotel certification, value-segmented messaging, and consumer education, to close the gap between good intentions and good actions.
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References
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