Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi, 22 Carol I Avenue, Building B, Room B-527, code 700505, Iasi, Romania
2nd International Scientific Conference on Recent Advances in Information Technology, Tourism, Economics, Management and Agriculture – ITEMA 2018 – Graz, Austria, November 8, 2018, CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS published by the Association of Economists and Managers of the Balkans, Belgrade, Serbia; ISBN 978-86-80194-13-4
Hotels’ environmental protection activities have impact on the sustainable development of tourism industry and support sustainable ecologic systems. The aim of this paper is to explain the relationship between hotels’ environmental performance, achieved through the implementation of good managerial eco-practices, and the social responsibility. This study was conducted on a sample of 43 hotel establishments with three or more stars, located in the Veneto region of Italy. The managerial eco-practices have been assessed trough the following dimensions: eco-friendly purchases and suppliers, energetic efficiency monitoring, waste management, recycling, water management and staff ecological formation. For hypotheses testing the Partial Least Squares analysis was performed using the Smart PLS version 3.0 software. Research results confirm that good eco-practices of hotel managers lead to environmental performance. Moreover, the results also suggest that hotel managers from Veneto region are involved in programs and projects with a role in enhancing environmental issues, thus demonstrating social responsibility. The paper highlights the importance of hotels’ ecological behavior, emphasizing its role in achieving environmental performance. The results have managerial implications that should encourage hotel managers to adopt eco-practices in order to achieve environmental performance and increase social responsibility.
good managerial eco-practices, recycling, waste and water management, eco-friendly purchases, PLS-SEM
[2] Ayuso, S. (2007) Comparing Voluntary Policy Instruments for Sustainable Tourism: The Experience of the Spanish Hotel Sector, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 15:2, pp.144-159, DOI: 10.2167/jost617.0
[3] Radwan, H.R.I., Jones, E., Minoli, D. (2012) Solid waste management in small hotels: a comparison of green and non-green small hotels in Wales, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 20:4, pp.533-550, DOI: 10.1080/09669582.2011.621539
[4] Kasim, A. (2009) Managerial attitudes towards environmental management among small and medium hotels in Kuala Lumpur, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 17:6, pp.709-725, DOI: 10.1080/09669580902928468
[5] Mihalič, T., Žabkar, V., Knežević, Cvelbar, L. (2012) A hotel sustainability business model: evidence from Slovenia, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 20:5, pp.701-719, DOI: 10.1080/09669582.2011.632092
[6] Hobincu, R.V. (2004) Politica de mediu şi crearea sistemelor de management de mediu, Perfect, Bucharest
[7] Honey, M., Rome, A. (2001) Protecting Paradise: Certification Programs for Sustainable Tourism and Ecotourism, Institute for Policy Studies, Washington.
[8] Popescu, C.R., Popescu, V.A., Popescu, G.N. (2014) The entrepreneur’s role in the performance growth of the financial audit activity in Romania, Amfiteatru Economic 17(38), pp. 232-251
[9] Dumitriu, C. (2005), Management și marketing ecologic, Tehnopress, Iasi, pp.60-61
[10] Țigu, G., Călărețu, B. (2013) Performanţele Supply Chain Management în turism. Studiu de caz la S.C. Continental Hotels S.A., Amfiteatru Economic, XV (33), pp. 60-73
[11] Bohdanowicz, P. (2005) European Hoteliers Environmental Attitudes. Greening the Business, Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, Vol. 46, No. 2, pp. 188-204, Available online: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0010880404273891, (accessed on 12 July 2018).
[12] Ragab, A.M., Meis, S. (2016) Developing environmental performance measures for tourism using a Tourism Satellite Accounts approach: a pilot study of the accommodation industry in Egypt, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 24:7, pp.1007-1023, DOI: 10.1080/09669582.2015.1107078
[13] Zorpas, A.A., Voukkali, I., Loizia, P. (2015) The impact of tourist sector in the waste management plans, Desalination and Water Treatment, 56:5, pp.1141-1149, DOI: 10.1080/19443994.2014.934721
[14] Kasim, A., Gursoy, D., Okumus, F., Wong, A. (2014) The importance of water management in hotels: a framework for sustainability through innovation, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 22:7, pp.1090-1107, DOI: 10.1080/09669582.2013.873444
[15] Trang, H.L.T., Lee, J-S., Han, H. (2018) How do green attributes elicit pro-environmental behaviors in guests? The case of green hotels in Vietnam, Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, DOI: 10.1080/10548408.2018.1486782
[16] Revilla, G., Dodd, T.H., Hoover, L.C. (2001) Environmental Tactics Used by Hotel Companies in Mexico, International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Administration, 1:3-4, pp.111-127, DOI: 10.1300/J149v01n03_07
[17] Jackson, L.A., Singh, D., Parsa, H.G. (2015) Tourism firms’ environmental rankings and financial performance: a multidimensional scaling approach, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 23:10, pp.1426-1444, DOI: 10.1080/09669582.2015.1044534
[18] Bagur-Femenías, L., Martí, J., Rocafort, A. (2015) Impact of sustainable management policies on tourism companies’ performance: the case of the metropolitan region of Madrid, Current Issues in Tourism, 18:4, pp.376-390, DOI: 10.1080/13683500.2014.932757
[19] López-Gamero, M.D., Pertusa-Ortega, E.M., Molina-Azorín, J.F., Tarí-Guilló, J.J., Pereira-Moliner, J. (2016) Organizational antecedents and competitive consequences of environmental proactivity in the hotel industry, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 24:7, pp.949-970, DOI: 10.1080/09669582.2015.1101124
[20] De Burgos-Jiménez, J., Cano-Guillén, C.J., Céspedes-Lorente, J.J. (2002) Planning and Control of Environmental Performance in Hotels, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 10:3, pp.207-221, DOI: 10.1080/09669580208667163
[21] Graci, S., Dodds, R. (2008) Why Go Green? The Business Case for Environmental Commitment in the Canadian Hotel Industry, Anatolia, 19:2, pp.251-270, DOI: 10.1080/13032917.2008.9687072
[22] Font, X., Elgammal, I., Lamond, I. (2017) Greenhushing: the deliberate under communicating of sustainability practices by tourism businesses, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 25:7, pp.1007-1023, DOI: 10.1080/09669582.2016.1158829
[23] Ringle, C.M., Wende, S., Becker, J.-M. (2015) “SmartPLS 3.” Boenningstedt: SmartPLS GmbH, https://www.smartpls.com
[24] Hair Jr. J. F., Hult, G.T.M., Ringle. C., Sarsted, M. (2017) A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), Sage Publication
[25] Lohmoller, J.B. (1989) Latent variable path modeling with partial least squares, Physica-Verlag, Heidelberg, Germany
