Corporate Social Responsibility: Adoption of Green Marketing by Hotel Industry

Abstract

This study which is based on a widespread review of literature discusses about adoption of green marketing by hotels as a mechanism to perform corporate social responsibility (CSR). This paper examines in detail the literature and theories surrounding CSR, Malaysian government's role in protecting the environment, the challenges of green marketing and the state of CSR within the hotel industry. The discussion reveals that hotels are found to be under constant pressure to balance the diverse forms of corporate social responsibility. By knowing the significance of sustainability, the Malaysian government has been encouraging the hotels and other sectors to embrace green technology and practices by providing incentives and tax breaks. Whilst hoteliers are striving to achieve financial performance by practicing green marketing, gaining the trust and meeting the expectations of the public have become more challenging. Further review discloses that strategy such as greenwashing needs to be avoided by hoteliers to gain the confidence among green consumers towards the green claims. The paper further concludes that green marketing is being used as a tool by hotels to perform their CSR while it provides competitive advantage for hotels in ensuring a balance between development and environmental sustainability.

The Impact of Green Marketing Strategy on the Firm's Performance in Malaysia

“…The agriculture industries also respond in producing foods without harming to the environment and consumers health (Pellegrini & Farinello, 2009). The hotel and tourism industries also involved in changing their business towards green hotel and eco-tourism (Graci & Dodds, 2008;Punitha & Mohd Rasdi, 2013;Chan, 2013). In addition, the concept of purchasing green products become popular as the numbers of consumers that willing to purchase that are environmentally-friendly are significantly increasing.…”

“…Various study (Ann et al 2006;Hwee Nga, 2009) discusses whether companies that implement the environmental strategy and certification of ISO 14001 EMS has a positive influence on the firms' performance, but despite the number of studies in this area, none are emphasized on the influence of green innovation and green promotion on the firms' performance in details. Punitha & Mohd Rasdi (2013) highlighted on the benefits and advantage that the companies will achieve as it involves in the green businesses for instance, superior financial and market performance. Literature in Malaysia shows that expected benefits, such as cost savings, marketing opportunities and financial returns from the sale of green products represent the important drivers for green initiatives (Eltayeb, Zailani, & Jayaraman, 2010).…”

Is there a Benefit from being Green? Assessing Benefits from Marketing Sustainability by North American Hotels

“…Within hotels in North America, the findings reveal that companies who believe they incorporate green marketing into their business/strategy perceive greater guest visits per year, longer guest visits, greater guest satisfaction, higher revenue, greater profits, and higher daily rates. Indeed, these findings positively support a number of authors who declare that that socially and environmentally responsible actions do in fact result in increased customer satisfaction and brand value [3,[19][20][21]. Overall, as public concern for the environment increases, it is of the utmost importance that corporations integrate environmental concerns into their marketing, management strategies, and development of their products and services [42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55].…”

“…A prominent trend across studies is that socially and environmentally responsible actions do in fact result in increased customer satisfaction and brand value [3,[19][20][21]. One term that is consistently used throughout the literature is 'corporate social responsibility' (CSR); this can be interpreted as a company's contribution to sustainable development.…”

Consumers’ Perceptions of Green Marketing in the Hotel Industry

“…At this point, green marketing is seen as a philosophy which largely advocates sustainable development. However, when topics such as green marketing and sustainable development are discussed, the product-based industry which involves manufacturing (e.g., consumer goods and household products) is given greater attention and concern (Punitha & Rasdi, 2013). The reason behind this is because the usage of raw materials and the effects of waste produced in relation to the environment are more obvious compared to the service-based industry.…”