The effects of conformity on consumer attitudes and behavioral intentions towards hotel environmental programs

DOI: 10.5176/2251-3426_THoR1241

Authors: Chih-Ching Teng, Meng-Lei (Monica) Hu, Jeou-Shyan Horng and Shang-Yang Chang

Abstract: This study attempts to obtainexperimental evidence for the effect of conformityon consumer intentions to participate in hotelenvironmental practices. While prior research hasshown that social norms can both guide and spurbehavior, little evidence indicates that customersare more likely to participate in hotelenvironmental activities by applying social normmessages. The field experiments were conducted toassess customers’ environmental attitudes,perceptions towards the hotel, and their behavioralintentions to participate in hotel eco-programs.The sample consisted of 160 undergraduatestudents who volunteered to participate for coursecredit. The Results demonstrate that customerresponses are significantly more positive when themessage with conformity is provided incomparison with those without conformity. Thissuggests that using social norm messages can boosthotel guests’ positive attitudes and behavioralintentions to involve in hotel eco-programs.Therefore, hotel managers can benefit fromcustomer cooperation and participation in hoteleco-programs by providing the conformity/socialnorm messages to enhance customerenvironmental behavior.
Keywords: social norms; conformity; environmentalprogram; behavioral intention