Accepted Manuscript

An Application of Theory of Planned Behavior to Predict Young Indian Consumers'

Green Hotel Visit Intention

Vivek Kumar Verma, Bibhas Chandra

PII: S0959-6526(17)32339-9

DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.10.047

Reference: JCLP 10839

To appear in: Journal of Cleaner Production

Received Date: 24 January 2017

Revised Date: 08 September 2017

Accepted Date: 06 October 2017

Please cite this article as: Vivek Kumar Verma, Bibhas Chandra, An Application of Theory of
Planned Behavior to Predict Young Indian Consumers' Green Hotel Visit Intention, Journal of
Cleaner Production (2017), doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.10.047

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 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT

An Application of Theory of Planned Behavior to Predict Young Indian Consumers' Green

Hotel Visit Intention

Vivek Kumar Verma*

Research Scholar,
Department of Management Studies,
Indian Institute of Technology, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, Jharkhand- 826004
Contact: +91 8002657989
vivekverma@ms.ism.ac.in, vivekverma926@gmail.com

Dr. Bibhas Chandra

Assistant Professor,
Department of Management Studies,
Indian Institute of Technology, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, Jharkhand-826004
chandra_bibhas@yahoo.co.in
*Corresponding author

Highlights

This study utilized Theory of planned behavior (TPB) to predict young consumers green

hotel visit intention.

Additional constructs (moral reflectiveness and conscientiousness) were included in TPB.

Attitude positively affects young consumers green hotel visit intention.

Moral reflectiveness strongly predicts young consumers green hotel visit intention than

conscientiousness.

The findings extended the applicability and robustness of the TPB model in predicting

young Indian consumers' green hotel visit intention.

Abstract

The study, being explorative, attempts to extend the social-psychological behavioral model i.e.

Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) by including two additional constructs viz. moral reflectiveness

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and conscientiousness to predict young Indian consumers' intention to visit green hotels. A self-

administered questionnaire was employed to gather data from 295 consumers purposively and

subsequently analyzed using covariance-based structural equation modeling (SEM). The attitude

ranks high in merit for predicting the consumer's green hotel visit intention. Further, the relative

importance of moral reflectiveness vis--vis conscientiousness has been observed more in

predicting green hotel visit intention, however, vice versa is true while constituting attitude of

consumers specific to green hotel choice intention. The findings also provide an extended support

to the applicability and robustness of the TPB model in predicting young consumers' green hotel

visit intention in the Indian context, as it has enhanced the predictive ability of the proposed

conceptual model (from 37.5% to 42.1%). This study contributes to the existing theory and practice

by providing useful insights about the attribution of conscientiousness and moral reflectiveness on

young consumers' green hotel visit intention.

Keywords: Conscientiousness; Green Hotel; Moral reflectiveness; Young Consumers; Theory of

Planned Behavior (TPB)

1. Introduction

Due to continuously growing concern about environmental problems like pollution, non-renewable

resource depletion, global warming worldwide (Han & Yoon, 2015; Norazah & Norbayah, 2015;

Lee et al., 2010), consumers are displaying their concern for the environment and changing their

purchasing habits to achieve green consumerism (Nimse et al., 2007). Green consumerism refers to

the production, preferential consumption and promotion of products and services based on their

pro-environment claims (Akenji, 2014). This change has forced various business sectors to alter

their purchasing methods, daily operations, manufacturing processes, including environmentally

focused decision making (D'Souza and Taghian, 2005) and hospitality industry is not an exception

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to this. The hospitality industry highly resources intensive in nature, consumes a significant amount

of non-renewable resources (as energy, water) and other nondurable products during its operational

activities (Chan et al., 2014). As a result, hotels are becoming more concerned towards maintaining

the balance between environmental issues, resource consumption issues, ethical and societal

concern, and profitability (Chan, 2013; Hsieh, 2012). Consumers display their environmental

concern by choosing a variety of behaviors and one of them could be selecting green hotels for a

stay while traveling (Gordon-Wilson and Modi, 2015; Lee et al., 2010, Robinot and Giannelloni,

2010). The green consumerism movement has evolved remarkably in the developed countries, but

with the advancement of consumers' knowledge about environmental protection, it is also spreading

in emerging economies like India (Yadav & Pathak, 2016; Raghavan and Vahanvati, 2009). In the

recent past, Ecotel certified hotels, LEED certified hotels, Green globe certified hotels are emerging

in a big way across various locations worldwide, and also in India. Right from the construction of

hotels following LEED standards to other worldwide accepted measures such as the use of local

products, wind energy devices, installation of green roofs, solar heaters, compact fluorescent lamps

to reuse of linens, the trend has caught on big time in the country. Recently, the U.S. Green Building

Council (USGBC) released a list in which India ranked No. 3 in the top ten countries outside the

United States for LEED certified properties having 11.64 million GSM of LEED-certified space,

and in total, it has 1,657 LEED certified properties (Kriss, 2014). Additionally, In India, the ITC

Gardenia, a Bangalore based luxury hotel, was the first hotel to be awarded the LEED platinum

rating for green buildings. Understanding the green advantage, ITC now has a platinum rating for

all its luxury hotels. Recently, another milestone in the Indian hospitality industry, Movenpick

Hotel & Spa Bangalore in India recognized as a first five-star hotel in the country to be Green Globe

certified. Apart from the formation of a green team to monitor the progress of green measures to

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achieve hotels environmental goals, the hotel uses wind power for electricity, separate garbage

bins for wet and dry waste and suppliers follow the environmentally friendly practices

(Greenglobe.com). Similarly, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces have implemented the Environmental

Awareness and Renewal at Taj Hotels (EARTH) program, a project which initiated as a mindful

effort to commit to energy conversation and other sustainability strategies. Another eco-friendly

hotel, The Fern Hotels & Resorts, which has the special eco features such as ayurvedic toiletries,

eco-friendly baskets, water-friendly tap and flushes, cloth bags instead of plastic shopping bags,

etc. (Verma, 2012). Besides, these developments in the Indian hospitality industry, still a limited

number of studies have been found to explore the greening of hospitality business in India which

demanded to conduct this study. A green hotel can be labeled as green certified and eco-friendly

lodging properties that follow environmental practices such as energy efficient practices in their

operations, linen reuse programs in rooms, conserving energy and water, recycling waste and water

in order to minimize its environmental impact (Han, Hsu, & Sheu, 2010; Verma & Chandra, 2016;

GHA, 2008).

This study has incorporated the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) as a standard framework

with an integration of two additional constructs (i.e. Moral Reflectiveness & Conscientiousness) as

antecedents of green hotel visit intention. Morality (Feinberg & Willer, 2013; Kim et al., 2014) and

Conscientiousness (Kvasova, 2015; Fraj & Martinez, 2006; Milfont & Sibley, 2012) are considered

as one of the origins that contributes to the formation of green/eco-friendly behavior. Moral

reflectiveness referred as the degree to which a person reflects the moral values in his/her everyday

behavior (Reynolds, 2008). Moral reflectiveness may change within a person over time (Walker,

2002). On the other hand, Conscientiousness, a personality trait in which individuals have a

tendency to be systematic, self-disciplined, responsible, and they tend to follow the specified

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procedure and norms of the society (McCrae & Costa, 1985). While few studies show the

inconsistent or contradictory aspect of the relationship (e.g. Markowitz et al., 2012; Hirsh &

Dolderman, 2007), other studies reveal that an individual conscientiousness is significantly

correlated with their environmental actions (e.g. Fraj & Martinez, 2006; Milfont & Sibley, 2012).

Thus, the dichotomy owing to inconsistent findings sets plausibility and calls for further

investigation. This study has been conducted on young Indian consumers because from the very

beginning of environmental movement, the opinion and attitude of youth have been largely ignored

(Wray-Lake et al., 2010; Yadav and Pathak, 2016), however, they are the prospective consumers'

and representatives of the society (Kanchanapibul et al., 2014). Further, in 2014, it was estimated

by Indian Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports that approximately 27.5 % individuals in India are

in the age group of 15-29 and considered to be 'the driving power' behind the increased attention to

green products (Heaney, 2006). According to Make My Trip India Travel Report 2016, young

travelers between the age group of 18-35 years accounted for about 66 percent of the total trips

(Dhawan, 2016). Additionally, the report also shows that about 63 percent young Indians have

traveled more than four times in first six months of 2016 as compared to 54 percent in the first half

of 2015. However, the investigation on ecological conservation and green hotel consumer behavior

are at the embryonic phase in India in contrast to the developed nations. Still, a limited number of

studies (Khare, 2015; Verma & Chandra, 2016; Manaktola and Jauhari, 2007; Verma & Chandra,

2017) have focused on measuring the green/eco-friendly hotel consumer behavior in India.

With quicker access to distant locations, larger disposable income and rising lifestyle aspirations,

the number of international tourists alone have grown by about 33% in the past five years in India

(World Bank, 2016). Given the huge economic potential, there have been instances of exploitation

of resources leading to ecological imbalance due to tourism activities. At present, responsible

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tourism in India is an emerging state as compared to developed nations. It is critical to ensure that

there is a common outlook on eco-tourism and the same should encompass sustainability and

conservation of ecosystem through local community participation. Therefore, there is a need to

understand the eco-friendly tourists behaviour to ensure that every individual must participate to

undo the damage created by tourism activities to the environment. Additionally, hospitality and

tourism industry could be benefited by understanding green travellers consumption behaviour

which will empower hoteliers with the information needed to develop an appropriate strategy for

sustained environmental, social and economic viability.

Findings from previous literature suggests that morality and conscientiousness play a

significant role in the formation of consumers ecological intention and behavior (Markowitz et al.,

2012; Fraj and Martinez, 2006; Hirsh, 2010; Milfont & Sibley, 2012; Chen and Tung, 2009; Tonglet

et al., 2004). Accordingly, the current study extends the TPB model by considering the effect of

these important constructs on the formation of consumers green hotel visit intention. Hence, the

paper attempts to validate the suitability of the proposed model incorporating moral reflectiveness

and conscientiousness in the TPB model which comprises of attitude, subjective norm and

perceived behavioral control with respect to young Indian consumers green hotel visit intention.

The findings from this study will contribute to the managerial insights about the newly explored

dimensions and premises of green hotel visit intention which, in turn, will help to fetch the potential

target market to a considerable extent. If the implications are incorporated into the environment-

friendly strategies of hotels, then this study will indirectly offer significant contribution to the wider,

multidisciplinary and multilateral efforts of developing a sustainable environment for the society.

2. Review of Literature and Hypotheses Development

2.1. Sustainable Hotel Practices

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The green hotel is an environment-friendly lodging property which implements various strategies

and practices intended to reduce the harmful impact on the environment (GHA, 2008). A growing

number of hotel chains have reportedly incorporated sustainability into their corporate strategies,

ensuring the organic growth of the business. Sustainable practices are now being widely applauded

and supported by many hospitality and tourism organizations globally. The most common form of

green hotel practices includes waste management systems, recycling practices, energy management

systems along with green certifications such as LEED' which stands for "Leadership in Energy and

Environmental Design", Green Leaf, Green Globe certification, Ecotel etc. (Lee et al., 2010;

Manaktola & Jauhari, 2007; Han et al., 2011). The InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has been

implementing "IHG Green Engage System" worldwide, which is an online sustainability program

that allows their hotels to trail, measure, and report on carbon footprint issues and resource

consumption such as energy, waste, and water (Hsieh, 2012, IHG, 2016). Similarly, the United

Nations Environment Program has also included Green Leader hotel certifications to encourage

small independent to multinational hotel brands towards implementation of environmentally

friendly practices (UNEP, 2013). In addition, a sizable chunk of geographical regions viz. Asia,

Europe, USA, Middle East, the Caribbean has initiated common sustainability practices with zeal

and aplomb to save the endangered planet. Worldwide, some specific sustainability practices

include low flush composting toilets, spring actions faucet and cascades, rain water harvesting

plants throughout the hotel, key cards for hotel room lighting control, low energy refrigeration

equipment, use of conventional energy sources such as solar, geothermal, biomass, renewable local

material to build new hotels, recycle bins in the guest rooms, refillable shampoo dispenser, clean

air mechanism, wildlife preservation, waste management program, promoting environmental

education etc. (Ernst & Young, 2008, Verma & Chandra, 2016; Lee et al, 2010; Han et al, 2011;

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Manaktola & Jauhari, 2007; GHA, 2008). In India, The Orchid Hotel, Mumbai, the first Ecotel

certified hotel used eco-friendly building material and has rooftop located swimming pool (acting

as an insulator for the heat generated) along with drip irrigated greenery to reduce water

consumption, making it a leader in its category. Also, "United Nations framework convention on

climate change" has recognized the energy development practices of Indian hotel like ITC Sonar, a

clean development project of ITC (Fukey & Isaac 2014). Based upon a meta-analysis, Dolnicar &

Otter (2003) ranked hotel selection attributes in order of preferences which include cleanliness,

hotel location, convenience for parking, and public transportation. Further, Lockyer (2005) found

that the price was the most dominant attribute in the customers hotel selection. Travelers appear to

be more concerned with room tariffs and value in their hotel selection. Ananth et al. (1992) indicated

that leisure travelers were concerned about hotel's reputation and name familiarity. Additionally,

quality attributes were found to be more important. Caso, Iglesias, and Balina (2015) investigated

the quality certification as hotel selection criteria. Findings from the analysis of 385 Spanish leisure

guest responses reveals that the quality certification was the most important criteria for hotel

selection followed by travel involvement and pre-trip planning. Caber & Albayrak (2014) studied

the importance of hotel attributes for pre-senior and senior tourists for hotel selection and found

that value for money and availability of entertainment related services was an important factor in

hotel selection. For customers satisfaction, politeness and friendliness of the staff were also found

as an important attribute. Another recent study by Esparon, Gyuris, & Stoeckl (2014) found that

nature as an aesthetic experience was most important factor for visitors in hotel selection.

In the present scenario, the growing environmental concern has led consumers to change

their purchasing preferences (Kim and Chung, 2011) and they have started considering not only the

product attributes but also their environmental impact (Caruana, 2007). As a result, sustainable

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practices are now observed as one of the essential factors in customers hotel selection decisions.

Consumers adoration and disposition towards sustainable hotels evoking hoteliers to eliminate

unsustainable choices from their operations (Kopnina, 2015). In previous studies, factors such as

natural environment, hotels environmental image, various in-room sustainability practices such as

recycle bins in the guest rooms, energy saving appliances, occupancy sensors, green certifications

amongst others, were found to be influencing the customers hotel choice decisions (Bohdanowicz,

2005; Chen & Tung, 2014; Lee et al., 2010; Han et al., 2011; Millar & Baloglu, 2011; Verma &

Chandra, 2016). However, a fair amount of dissonance between customers desire and actual

behavior has been observed by researchers in various studies. For example, Jung & Chun (2014)

who found that tourists preferred luxury rooms along with the provision of personal toiletries but

at the same time were willing to accept the reduced service quality. Further, Kasim (2004) found

that customers were knowledgeable and concerned about the environment but they did not consider

environmental attributes in their hotel selection. More Recently, Verma and Chandra (2017) found

that hotel customers choose sustainability marginally over location, price and other factors

considered for hotel selection.

2.2. Theory of Planned Behavior

Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) which is a derivative of the theory of reasoned action (TRA)

was developed by Ajzen (1985). In this framework, the individual performance of a particular

behavior is predicted by three variables; an individuals' attitude toward the behavior, subjective

norms (SN) and perceived behavioral control (PBC). Collectively, all three leads to the formation

of the intention towards behavior which finally affects the behavior (Ajzen, 2002). The TPB

framework components' relationships are shown in Fig. 1.

Figure. 1. Framework of the Theory of Planned Behavior [TPB] (adopted from Ajzen, 1991)

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Attitude toward a behavior has been explained as the degree to which individuals have a favorable

or negative assessment when he/she performs a particular behavior (Ajzen, 1991; Tonglet et al.,

2004; Han et al., 2009). The higher the degree of a positive attitude towards an individual's

behavior, larger is the probability of performing the particular behavior in question. Manaktola and

Jauhari (2007) also opined that tourists attitude towards the environment is affected by green hotel

practices implemented by hotels. It is noted from previous studies that hotel customers' eco-friendly

attitude favorably influences their intention to visit and even pay a premium for green hotels that

have implemented green practices (Chen and Peng, 2012; Han and Kim, 2010). Another element

of behavioral intention in the TPB model is the subjective norm which is defined as the viewpoints

of other people who are important to an individual and have the ability to influence his/her decision-

making (e.g., family and relatives, colleagues, associates, or business partners, friends). Previous

studies suggest that subjective norms were significantly found affecting an individual's attitude

towards a green hotel and behavioral intention (Han et al., 2010; Teng et al., 2013; Yadav and

Pathak, 2016; Han and Kim, 2010). The final element of an individual's behavioral intention is

perceived behavioral control (PBC: also, labeled as a non-volitional factor) which is defined as

the perceived ease or difficulty of performing the behavior'' (Ajzen, 1991). Precisely, perceived

behavioral control evaluates an individual's perception that how efficiently he/she can control

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factors that may enable or bound the actions required to deal with a specific situation. It is assumed

that PBC is considered to be a function of accessible control beliefs of individuals' perceived

requirements of the resources and opportunities to perform a particular behavior that too on a

priority basis (Chang, 1998). Some studies have confirmed that an individual's behavioral intention

is significantly and positively influenced by perceived behavioral control to act in a particular way

(Baker et al., 2007; Cheng et al., 2006). Beliefs reflect the information people have in relation to

the performance of a given behavior, but this information is often inaccurate and incomplete; it may

rest on faulty or irrational premises, be biased by self-serving motives, by fear, anger and other

emotions, or otherwise fail to reflect reality (Geraerts et al., 2008). However, no matter how people

arrive at their behavior, normative and control beliefs, their attitudes towards the behavior, their

subjective norms and their perceptions of behavioral control follow automatically and consistently

from their beliefs. It is only in this sense that behavior is said to be reasoned or planned. Along in

line, attitude is said to be the function of an individuals behavioral belief, whereas other

determinants of the behavioral intentions, i.e. subjective norm and perceived behavioral control are

also attributed to the function of normative and control beliefs respectively (Han et al., 2010; Ajzen

& Fishbein, 1980). Thus, the model perpetually embeds belief as a potential source of TPB

constructs in extended framework. The attitude towards behavior, subjective norm, and perception

of behavioral control dynamically interact to form behavioral intention which further leads to actual

behavior. Hence, from the above discussion it can be hypothesize that:

H1: Attitude significantly and positively influences consumer's green hotel visit intention

H2: Subjective norm significantly and positively influences consumer's green hotel visit

intention

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H3: Perceived behavioral control significantly and positively influences consumer's green hotel

visit intention

2.3. Inclusion of Additional Constructs in TPB

TPB has been applauded and leveraged in predicting consumers intention and behavior across a

range of research domain by researchers, for example, mode of travel selection (Heath & Gifford,

2002), energy efficient products (Ha and Janda, 2012), household recycling (Kaiser & Gutscher,

2003), organic products (Kim & Chung, 2011; Zagata, 2012; Yadav & Pathak, 2016), hospitality

consumer behavior (Chen & Tung, 2014; Han et al., 2010), consumers' general pro-environmental

behavior and green products (Yadav & Pathak, 2016; Chan and Lau, 2002). Furthermore, while

discussing the adequacy of the Theory of planned behavior (TPB), Ajzen (1991) documented that

the theory is open to extend by adding some additional variables as long as they have a distinct and

significant contribution. For example, while extending the TPB to predict the intention for green

hotel choice, Han and Kim (2010) found that models predictability has been increased. Similarly,

another extension of TPB model by Kim and Han (2010) also proved to be acceptable in measuring

the "customer's intention to pay conventional hotel prices at a green hotel". Embracing the aforesaid

argument, this study includes moral reflectiveness and conscientiousness as additional variables to

explain the young consumers green hotel visit intention. Most of the critiques on the original TPB

framework rooted in the idea that some behaviors would not only depend on rational choices i.e.

costbenefit evaluation inherent in TPB but also on personal motives of moral values and

personality (Biel and Thogerson, 2007; Markowitz et al., 2006). Moral norms could be defined as

the mindfulness of the moral correctness or incorrectness associated with performing the behavior

that considers feelings of personal responsibility to perform, or to refuse to perform, a certain

behavior (Ajzen 1991). Moral norm is the feeling associated with personal norms, rather than to

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the social pressure which is related to subjective norms, therefore, this additional construct included

in TPB, considered to be distinct from subjective norms. Concerning environmental behavior, a

number of studies have included moral concerns in the TPB with varied results in different contexts

(Chan and Bishop, 2013; Chen and Tung, 2009; Tonglet et al., 2004; Davis et al., 2006). Another

variable i.e. conscientiousness, included in the extended framework in TPB is said to be an effective

individual predictor of environmental behavior. Some of the earlier studies evidenced the effect of

personality on peoples environmental engagement (Fraj and Martinez, 2006; Hirsh, 2010; Milfont

& Sibley, 2012; Wiseman and Bogner, 2003; Markovitz et al., 2012). According to Milfont and

Sibley (2012), individuals with long term orientation are aware of the future consequences of their

activities and inclined for better future planning, including ecological ones. It is also suggested that

including conscientiousness as a separate factor distinctly contributes to the results while predicting

attitudes and behavior (Lee, Ashton, Ogunfowora, Bourdage, & Shin, 2010; Lee & Ashton, 2005).

It is clear that moral norms and conscientiousness indeed have an impact on green attitudes and

behavior and hence asserts candidature for inclusion in the TPB framework. Against this backdrop,

the present study extends the TPB framework by integrating moral reflectiveness and

conscientiousness to measure young consumers' intention to visit the green hotel.

2.3.1. Moral Reflectiveness

Moral reflectiveness is suitably observed as a proximal motivational factor of green behavior as

since distinct morality is one of the elements that trigger individual concern and commitment to

environmental problems (Feinberg & Willer, 2013). Moral reflectiveness denotes to an individual

difference of morally absorbed reflection of people to engage in their day to day activities

(Reynolds, 2008) and it may vary within an individual over time (Walker, 2002). Morally adjudging

what is correct and incorrect is a most persuasive element in the engagement of moral behavior. An

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individuals moral reflectiveness and its positive relation with moral behavior have been

empirically validated (Reynolds, 2008). An individual's concerns about societal and ecological

issues have been credited to moral motives, which reflect "a fundamental respect for human dignity

and worth" (Aguilera et al., 2007). Pragmatic studies have established that people who considered

morality in their decisions have a tendency to be more concerned for others' welfare (Reynolds,

2008) and tend to engage in more prosocial behavior at work (Aquino & Reed, 2002). Furthermore,

in the norm-activation model, the instigation of a moral norm is based on the relationship of

cognitive, emotional, and social factors. The examples of environmentally friendly behaviors which

are predicted by moral and personal norms are green hotels visit (Han, 2015), energy conservation

(Shultz et al., 2007), recycling (Poskus, 2015; Botetzagias et al., 2015), travel mode choice (Doran

& Larsen, 2016). These studies also reported that the consciousness and knowledge about

environmental issues are perhaps the cognitive drivers for developing moral norms. This cognitive

affair often causes emotional responses or guilty state of mind, which is associated with individuals

social norms and the practicing those standards will eventually lead to the formation of his/her

personal moral norms (Bamberg & Mser, 2007). To summarize, prior research and theory suggest

that heightened moral reflectiveness predisposes individuals to engage in an eco-friendly behavior

because it represents an opportunity to fulfill their moral motives for sustaining a desirable

environment and society. From the above discussion, it can be hypothesized that:

H4: Moral Reflectiveness significantly and positively influences consumer's attitude toward

green hotels

H5: Moral Reflectiveness significantly and positively influences consumer's intention to visit

green hotels

2.3.2 Conscientiousness

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Conscientiousness is defined as a personality trait in which individuals have a tendency to be

systematic, self-disciplined, responsible, and follow the procedures and norms (McCrae & Costa,

1985). This personality trait is found to be linked to environmental conservation and engagement

(Milfont, Wilson, and Diniz, 2012). It is clear that individuals having future orientation are usually

more anxious about the consequences of their activities (Milfont & Sibley, 2012). Besides, being

responsible and conscientious personalities, following societal norms and desire to do the right

thing can be seen in their eco-friendly behavior (Hirsh, 2010). The association of conscientiousness

with the environment is still debatable because of the variations in the findings. While few studies

show the inconsistent or contradictory aspect of the relationship (Hirsh & Dolderman, 2007;

Markowitz et al., 2012), other studies reveal that conscientiousness is significantly correlated with

individuals' environmental actions (Fraj & Martinez, 2006; Milfont & Sibley, 2012). Environmental

psychologists realize that to change behavior and attitudes towards the environment, scientists and

policymakers must understand peoples personalities (Thomas, 2014). Personality provides the

information about peoples values, and attitudes, and researchers have found that personality factors

can influence our likelihood to engage in environmentally sensitive practices (Milfont and Sibley,

2012; Thomas, 2014). Hence, based on above discussion it can be hypothesize that:

H6: Conscientiousness significantly and positively influences consumers' attitude towards green

hotels

H7: Conscientiousness significantly and positively influences consumers' intention to visit green

hotels

Figure 2. Proposed Conceptual Framework

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3. Research Methodology

3.1. Questionnaire Designing

For moral reflectiveness and conscientiousness, all measuring items were taken from the related

literature with little modification in the wordings to make it more understandable in the context of

a green hotel. The standardized measuring items of TPB model constructs were used as per the

suggestions of Ajzen (1985). Every construct was evaluated by respondents on 5 points Likert's

scales varying from 1 being strongly disagree' to 5 being strongly agree'. Table 1 summarizes the

sources of constructs and items utilized in the study.

Table 1. Questionnaire Items and Their Source of Adoption

Variables Measuring Item Source of

Adoption
Attitude
ATT1 For me staying at a green hotel when traveling is good Kim and
ATT2 For me staying at a green hotel when traveling is desirable Han,2010;
ATT3 For me staying at a green hotel when traveling is pleasant Teng, Wu
ATT4 For me staying at a green hotel when traveling is ethical & Liu,2013
Moral
Reflectiveness
MR1 I regularly think about the ethical implications of my decisions Reynolds,
MR2 I reflect about the morality of my actions almost every day 2008
MR3 I often find myself pondering about ethical issues
MR4 I often reflect on the moral aspects of my decisions
MR5 I like to think about ethics

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Conscientiousness
CON1 I get chores are done right away Donnellan
CON2 I often disremember to put things back in their proper place et al., 2006
CON3 I like order
CON4 I make a mess of things
Subjective Norm
SN1 Most people who are important to me think I should stay at a green hotel Han et al.,
when traveling 2010; Chen
SN2 Most people who are important to me would want me to stay at a green hotel & Tung,
when traveling 2014
SN3 People whose opinions I value would prefer that I stay at a green hotel when
traveling
Perceived
Behavioral Control
PBC1 Whether or not I stay at a green hotel when traveling is completely up to me Han et al.,
PBC2 I am confident that if I want, I can stay at a green hotel when traveling 2010; Chen
PBC3 I have resources, time, and opportunities to stay at a green hotel when & Tung,
traveling 2014
Intention to Visit
Green Hotel
VI1 I am willing to stay at a green hotel when traveling Han et al.,
VI2 I plan to stay at a green hotel when traveling 2010; Chen
VI3 I will make an effort to stay at a green hotel when traveling & Tung,
2014

3.2. Data Collection

A self-administered questionnaire was utilized to collect data from the young consumers. Before

the final data collection, a preliminary study was administered by distributing a total of 25

questionnaires to the twenty-five research scholars. Few changes were made based on

recommendations from the pilot study results. Finally, 450 questionnaires were distributed among

young consumers. The purposive sampling technique was employed for data collection. The

majority of them were either in the final year of their graduation in hospitality management course

or first year of masters degree program in business management. The questionnaire was filled by

students of government owned Institute of Hotel Management, Pusa, New Delhi, Indian Institute

of Hotel Management, Kolkata, and Indian Institute of Technology (ISM) Dhanbad, Jharkhand,

India. Responses were collected purposively from the students who have visited a hotel at least

once in last one year. The respondents were first intervened conveniently and subsequently screened

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objectively based on the aforesaid criteria. University or college students have been chosen as a

sample because young people play a crucial role in the environmental preservation and often have

more chances to travel (Chen and Tung, 2014; Paco et al., 2014). Moreover, they are well aware

and concerned towards increasing environmental problems (Paco et al., 2014; Backhaus et al.,

2011). Therefore, it becomes important to understand their perception concerning

sustainability practices in hotels, which might be useful to mitigate the environmental problems.

Although, results obtained from the purposive sampling approach may lack generalizability, yet

considered as reliable in the sample of students and younger population (Cheah and Phau, 2011;

DelVecchio, 2000). The high response rate (65.5%) can be understood as the questionnaire was

distributed in the groups of students and it is evident that group administered surveys permits speedy

data collection with relatively high response rate (Evans and Rooney, 2014). Further, regarding the

sample size, Kline (1998) also recommended that data must be ten times of the parameter/items.

Therefore, a sample size of 295 supports the research as it has 24 items more than the suggested.

Demographic characteristics of the respondents are as shown in Table 2:

Table 2. Demographic Characteristics of Respondents

Gender Age Education Monthly Income (in Indian

rupees)
freq. % Years freq % freq. % Freq. %
.
Male 163 55.3 18-25 173 58.6 Graduate 182 61.7 Below 25000 110 37.3
25001-45000 88 29.8
Female 132 44.7 26-30 84 28.5 Post Graduate 90 30.5 45001-65000 42 14.3
65001-85000 34 11.5
>30 38 12.9 Intermediate 23 7.8 Above 85000 21 7.1

Total 295 100 Total 295 100 Total 295 100 Total 295 100

Initially, the gathered data were screened to fulfill the norms of outliers and normality. Using Cook's

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distance, the outliers were identified. Van der Meer et al. (2010) and Stevens (1992) recommended

that responses displaying Cook's distance value greater than one must be eliminated to get a better

fit. Considering this total of four responses were removed. Additionally, for normality of the data,

Skewness and kurtosis index measures were used. All the values of skewness and kurtosis for all

the constructs fell below three and ten respectively. Hence, the distribution of the data according to

the recommendation of Kline (2011) can be considered to be normal.

3.3. Data Analysis

The proposed theoretical framework was analyzed using SEM (structure equation modeling) as

suggested by Anderson and Gerbing (1988). Validity and reliability of the construct were assessed

by using measurement model and, later on, hypothesis and model fit were measured by using the

covariance-based structural equation modeling' (CB-SEM) approach by SPSS V.20 & AMOS

V.21 respectively.

4. Results

4.1. Measurement Model Results: Reliability and Validity

The measurement model was estimated by Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) with a maximum

likelihood estimation method with an aim to assess the validity. The outcomes of the model

measurement revealed that the conceptual model indicated a good fit to the data (2 = 288.044,

2/d.f. = 1.485, p < .000, RMSEA = .041, CFI = .969, GFI= .913, IFI = .969, TLI= .963). All items

are loaded above 0.60 on their assigned factors. All the elements were significantly associated with

their specified constructs. The measurement model replicates the quantitative measures of the

constructs reliability and validity. In this study, for measuring the internal consistency Cronbach's

was used which ranges from .756 to .883 in the acceptable limit of .70 and above indicating good

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consistency as recommended by Hair et al. (2010). Further, for construct validity, both convergent

and discriminant validity is tested using three parameters: Composite Reliability (C.R), Factor

Loadings and the Average Variance Extracted (A.V.E). Convergent validity denotes to the

correlation between two or more scores on the investigations which are intended to measure the

same construct. The standardized factor loading of all the items ranges was above the threshold

limit of .6 and above (Chin, Gopal & Salisbury, 1997). There are many studies that reported that

factor loadings should be greater than 0.5 for better results (Hulland, 1999; Chen & Tsai, 2007).

Additionally, while exploring pro-environmental consumer behavior, Ertz, Karakas & Sarigollu

(2016) have considered the factor loadings of 0.4 and above for their Confirmatory factor analysis.

However, it is also suggested by Peterson (1994) that a value of 0.6 is the criterion-in-use. Hence

all the factors were retained in the analysis. Hence, following these recommendations, it is clear

that the standardized factor loading of all the items ranges was above the threshold limit of .6 and

above (Chin, Gopal & Salisbury, 1997). Further, the Average Value Extract score (A.V.E) is

ranging from .51 to .66, which is also above the acceptable limit of .5 (Hair et al., 2010).

Additionally, the square root of the A.V.E was also higher than the correlation between each

construct which shows good adequacy. Moreover, the value of composite reliability which shows

the internal consistency of multiple indicators ranges from .761 to .886, also exceeds the acceptable

limit of .6 exhibiting adequate discriminant validity (Bagozzi & Yi, 1988). From above results, it

can be stated that proposed theoretical model has a good validity (both convergent and discriminant)

and reliability. Table 2 exhibits the validity and reliability values whereas Table 3 provides the

discriminant value results.

Table 3: Result of Confirmatory Factor Analysis (Factor Loading, Reliability, Volatility, and Validity)

Construct Items Factor loading Cronbachs AVE* C.R

Attitude (ATT) ATT1 .65 .883 .669 .886

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ATT2 .64
ATT3 .95
ATT4 .97
Subjective Norm (SN) SN1 .74 .756 .516 .761
SN2 .65
SN3 .76
Conscientiousness (CON) CON1 .72 .821 .537 .823
CON2 .70
CON3 .78
CON4 .73
Moral Reflectiveness (MR) MR1 .77 .868 .566 .867
MR2 .73
MR3 .74
MR4 .79
MR5 .73
Perceived Behavioral PBC1 .82 .805 .590 .811
Control (PBC) PBC2 .70
PBC3 .78
Intention to Visit INT1 .60 .794 .585 .805
Green Hotel (VI) INT2 .85
INT3 .82
Note: *AVE=Average Variance Extracted, AVE* calculated as SMC/ ( SMC + standard measurement error),
C.R-Composite Reliability

Table 4. Correlations Among the Constructs

ATT SN CON MR PBC VI
ATT 0.783
SN 0.237** 0.718
CON 0.301** 0.446 ** 0.732
MR 0.286** 0.289** 0.447** 0.752
PBC 0.447** 0.150* 0.210** 0.229** 0.768
VI 0.560 ** 0.353** 0.410** 0.405** 0.357** 0.764

Mean 4.04 3.73 3.88 3.96 4.07 4.25

S.D. .805 .844 .747 .725 .627 .631
Note: ATT: Attitude, CON: Conscientiousness, SN: Subjective Norm, MR: Moral Reflection: Intention to visit the
green hotel. Note: The bold values represent the square root of AVE, S.D. = Standard deviation. *Correlation is
significant at the .05 level (2-tailed). **Correlation is significant at the .01 level (2-tailed).

4.2. Structural Model: Goodness of Fit Results

Based on the procedure recommended by Anderson and Gerbing (1988), the theoretical framework

was tested by using the goodness of fit indices. The results of the structural analysis revealed that

the proposed theoretical model has a good fit as values fall within the acceptable limit (2 =

432.609, 2/d.f.= 2.174, p< .000, Goodness of Fit Index (GFI)=.912, Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI)

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=.910, Comparative Fit Index (CFI) =.922, Incremental Fit Index (IFI)=.923 and Root Mean

Square Error of Approximation' (RMSEA)= .059). All the observed values were well above the

threshold values recommended by Bagozzi & Yi, (1988) and Chau & Hu, (2001). Consequently,

from the above analytical results, it can be inferred that the proposed hypothetical model indicates

a decent overall data fit for measuring the young consumers' intention to visit green hotels.

Additionally, the TPB model was also evaluated for goodness of fit statistics based on

recommended criteria (2 = 486.720, 2/d.f. = 2.398, p < .000, RMSEA = .063, CFI = .906, GFI=

.903, IFI = .907, TLI= .90). At last, both proposed conceptual model and TPB model were

compared. The results reveal that including moral reflectiveness and conscientiousness in TPB has

improved its descriptive power for predicting green hotel visit intention (Adjusted R2 = .421) than

original TPB model (Adjusted R2 = .375). Along in line the fit statistics was also found relatively

greater (2/d.f. = 2.174, RMSEA = .059) than TPB model (2/d.f. = 2.398, RMSEA = .063). In

Summary, the results and findings supported the inclusion of moral reflectiveness and

conscientiousness in the TPB for measuring young consumers' green hotel visit intention. Table 4

exhibits the comparative goodness of fit indices.

Table 5. Goodness of Fit Indices and Explanatory Power of the Model

Fit Indices TPB Model Proposed Conceptual Norm*

Framework
2 486.720 432.609 N. A
Scaled 2/d.f. 2.398 2.174 > 1 and < 5
GFI .903 .912 0.90
TLI .900 .910 0.90
IFI .907 .923 0.90
CFI .906 .922 0.90
RMSEA .063 .059 0.80
Adjusted R2 (INT) .375 .421

Note: * Source: Bagozzi and Yi (1988), GFI = Goodness of Fit Index, TLI = Tucker- Lewis Index, CFI = Comparative
Fit Index, IFI = Incremental Fit Index, RMSEA = Root Mean Square Error Approximation.

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Figure 3. Causal Relationship Between Constructs and Consumers Intention to Visit Green Hotel

Note: *Significant at the .05 level, ** significant at the .01 level

4.3. Hypothesis Testing Results

Structural model testing results reveal that Attitude (=.41, t= 6.742, p<.001), Subjective Norm

(=.20, t= 3.107, p<.01), and Perceived Behavioral Control (=.15, t= 2.432, p<.05), were

positively and significantly related to young consumers' green hotel visit intention. Hence, the

following hypothesis H1, H2, and H3 were supported. The additional constructs integrated into the

TPB model i.e. Moral Reflectiveness (=.23, t= 3.696, p<.001), and Conscientiousness (=.21, t=

2.951, p<.001) were also found significantly influencing the consumers' green hotel visit intentions,

which supported hypothesis H6 and H7. Further, moral reflectiveness (=.23, t= 3.696, p<.001),

and conscientiousness (=.23, t= 3.696, p<.001) were also found significantly influencing the

consumers' attitude towards green hotels while traveling. Therefore, hypothesis H4 and H5 were

also supported. From the Fig.3, it is clear that the estimates of the standardized coefficients and t-

values which showed that the direct effect of attitude on green hotel visit intention was greater than

the subjective norm and perceived behavioral control. Additionally, Table 5 provides the details

about all Hypothesis Tests Results and Their Status.

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Table 6. Hypothesis Testing Results and Their Status

Paths Hypothesis Standardized t value (t) P-value (p) Hypothesis Status
Estimate () Significance
ATT ---->VI H1 .41 6.742 p<.01 Supported
SN ---->VI H2 .20 3.107 p<.01 Supported
PBC ---->VI H3 .15 2.432 p<.05 Supported
CON ---->ATT H4 .24 3.322 p<.01 Supported
MR ---->ATT H5 .15 2.454 p<.05 Supported
MR ---->VI H6 .23 3.696 p<.01 Supported
CON ---->VI H7 .21 2.951 p<.01 Supported

5. Discussion and Implications

This study being exploratory in nature attempts to develop a consumers green hotel visit intention

framework, primarily theorized on TPB model proposed by Ajzen (1991) along with two added

constructs viz. conscientiousness and moral reflectiveness. The concept greenness derives its

significance from morality and conscientiousness as sufficiently evidenced in scholarly

observations. Hence, it set plausibility for inclusion in the proposed framework. The findings of the

study strongly validate the sufficiency of TPB model in pretext to the green hotel visit intention.

All the three components of TPB (attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control)

considerably attribute to the development of behavior intention as revealed in the outcomes.

However, the attitude has emerged as a most significant factor in the TPB model to predict young

consumers intention to visit green hotel ( = 0.44). These results coincide with those yielded by

earlier studies (Han and Kim, 2010, Han et al., 2010; Lee et al., 2010). Young consumers stronger

attitude towards environment advocates that hotel managers need to understand that millennial

(young) consumers are more concerned about the environment. They should include environmental

features that are apparent and appeal to the consumers, especially young ones as they are the

current and future guests of the hotel industry. Furthermore, the results unveil that

conscientiousness followed by moral reflectiveness attribute considerably to the building of attitude

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specific to green hotel visit intention. This result is also consistent with Aguilera et al. (2007), who

found that individual's concerns about social and environmental issues have been attributed to moral

motives. Additionally, while examining the voluntary workplace green behavior of a group as well

as individuals, Kim et al., (2014) confirmed that moral reflectiveness is associated with individuals

and group environmental behavior. As people who are concerned with moral issues have a tendency

to think about the welfare of others, therefore, the sustainable behavior may be a way to satisfy their

moral motives. However, the supremacy of conscientiousness has been recognized more relative to

moral reflectiveness in building consumers attitude towards the green hotel. Conscientiousness is

an act of compliance to the norm, exhibiting a tendency of obeyance, manifesting self-discipline,

however, valuing conscientiousness is not sufficient to warrant ascriptions of integrity (Becker,

1998). Integrity subsumes morally justifiable principles but conscientiousness incorporates both

morally laden and neutral elements (Becker, 1998). In this study, morality has been expressed in

the form of moral reflectiveness in association with environmental motives and behavior as

observed in many studies (Aguilera et al., 2007; Kim et al., 2014). Moral reflectiveness deals with

morally laden aspect of conscientiousness and allows one to adjudge what is correct and incorrect

is a specific situation. This is the reason why moral reflectiveness attributes more strongly to green

hotel visit intention than conscientiousness in the study. However, in contrary, conscientiousness

exhibits its supremacy by attributing high to attitude formation than moral reflectiveness. For

example, a consumer high on conscientiousness trait i.e. demonstrating eco-friendly behavior may

end up choosing a non-green hotel, however, like to consume organic food. This connotes that

consumer having same amount of conscientiousness displays vacillating moral values and virtues

while choosing food and hotel. Besides, variations in the previous findings, these results are found

consistent with those conclusions which suggested that conscientiousness is significantly correlated

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with individuals' environmental movements (Fraj & Martinez, 2006; Milfont & Sibley, 2012,

Kvasova, 2015). On the contrary, few studies reported minor or inconsistent effects of

conscientiousness on ecological concern (Hirsh, 2010) and self-reported green behavior

(Markowitz et al., 2012) and no effect on environmental behavior (Hilbig et al., 2012).

Findings of the study would provide managerial insights as well as underpin the existing

theoretical frameworks with respect to predicting behavioral intention specific to green hotel

choice. The inclusion of conscientiousness and moral reflectiveness improved the predictive power

of TPB model specific to green hotel choice intention and thus contributing to the existing theory.

Further, the managerial insights would facilitate managers to devise a communication strategy

invoking moral values and benchmarking conscientiousness towards environment among people.

A variety of communication programs, for instance, media advertisements and sponsorship

schemes can not only raise consumers environmental concern but also communicate the benefits

of visiting green hotels. Data analysis results reveal that young consumers' have a significant

positive attitude towards the green hotel visit while traveling, showing their concern for the

environment. Hotels can target young consumers by focusing on their morality and

conscientiousness needs while traveling to boost the green hotel visit. For the government, it is

imperative to strengthen the idea of environment conservation by promoting and awarding hotels

to create more involvement in contributing to environmental protection. In doing so, the local

government can focus on including environmental education in the school or college curriculum to

create more public awareness. As conscientiousness also affects young consumers green hotel visit

intention which means hotels must focus on appeals for the environmental responsibility to enhance

this behavior for potential customers. Using baseline information on individual level personality

and behavior, policymakers can have a better idea of how to customize environmental proposals

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and suggestions to different types of personalities (Thomas, 2014). A variety of advertising and

sponsorship programs to promote the advantage of environmental conservation to stimulate

consumers' environmental concern which in turn increases the green hotel visit. As long as

consumer considers visiting green hotels is advantageous for the environmental well-being, their

intention of visiting such hotels could be improved. In addition, this study helps to further enrich

the hospitality and consumer behavior literature, and help hotel practitioners develop better

marketing (e.g., communication of a hotel's green initiatives and practices to its customers)

strategies for eco-friendly customer retention by tapping customers' volitional, non-volitional,

cognitive, and normative decision-making processes. Altogether, to preserve the resource of the

human living environment is everyone's responsibility.

6. Conclusion, Limitations, and Scope for Further Research

This study is one of the first attempts that has incorporated the theory of planned behavior (TPB)

to measure the young consumers' green hotel visit intention in the Indian context. However, in India

green consumerism is currently at emerging stage and so far, few green hotels are available in India.

The outcomes have demonstrated the practicality of ingrained socio-psychological model (TPB) in

measuring the young consumers' intention towards visiting green hotels in India. Moreover, the

study has empirically validated the applicability of revised TPB model incorporating two additional

constructs (moral reflectiveness & conscientiousness). The two additional constructs have

increased the robustness and predictive ability of the proposed theoretical framework when

measuring consumer visit intention towards green hotels. Overall, and in the TPB constructs,

attitude appears to be the most significant predictor of young consumers green hotel visit intention.

Concerning the extended variables, moral reflectiveness was a stronger predictor than

conscientiousness in explaining the young Indian consumers green hotel visit intention.

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In conclusion, Indian youth are conscientious about the existing ecological issues and have

favorable attitude and moral reflectiveness to visit green hotels in future. Despite this study's

specific contribution to the existing sustainable hotel consumer behavior literature, there are some

limitations that pave way for further research. The present study is restricted to measuring the young

consumers' intention to visit green hotel; provides no assessment of the actual behavior. Examining

actual behavior would be needing recollection of data after a certain period of time leaving the

scope for further research. Next, the current study is restricted to the educated young individuals

only, which may bias the outcome as educated youth may have the tendency to elicit a socially

desirable response (Kaiser et al., 2008). Additionally, as the study employed self-reported measures

for evaluating conscientiousness trait of personality, the response error owing to social desirability

effect cannot be completely ruled out (Beckmann, 2005). Hence, more subjective measures such as

peer report (Halpenny 2006; Lam and Cheng, 2002) are necessitated to offset biases of this sort in

future studies. The predictive ability of the extended theoretical framework is 42.1% (i.e. R2=0.421)

thus there is still a possibility to improve the explanatory power by incorporating additional

constructs from relevant literature in future studies. Moreover, the generalizability of the findings

could be low as this study measured the intention of young consumers using purposive sampling.

In addition, some of the factor loading values are low but above the acceptable limit. However,

based on the adequacy of measurement models fit indices (e.g. GFI, CFI), those specific items

were retained in the further analysis. Despite having good fit indices these loadings can be further

improved. The representativeness of the sample could have been improved by taking population

elements from the dispersed locations. Finally, the relationship between individual attitude, moral

reflectiveness, conscientiousness and green hotel visit intention might evolve over time providing

the opportunity for the longitudinal investigation for deeper insights into the subject under study.

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