Navigating corporate social responsibility and customer behavior in sustainable hospitality: Role of credibility, environmental concerns, and green brand image

Understanding customer psychology holds significant relevance in contemporary society. Therefore, this research examines the effects of perceived green Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and perceived CSR authenticity on customer continuous stay intentions, via perceived credibility, by embedding the moderating effects of environmental concerns and green brand image in the context of green hotels. The primary data was collected via an online survey from customers who had stayed at green hotels. This research is based on two studies: the first used 423 responses, and the second used 418 responses. The analysis was performed using covariance-based structural equation modeling. The findings revealed that perceived green CSR and CSR authenticity significantly strengthened perceived credibility but had no effect on customer continuous stay intentions at green hotels. The findings showed that perceived credibility was the full mediator in the sustainable hospitality industry. In addition, the findings revealed that the interactive effects of environmental concerns and perceived green CSR, as well as the interactive effects of green brand image and perceived CSR authenticity, significantly boosted customer continuous stay intentions at green hotels. This novel research substantially contributes to psychological theories, such as the stimulus-organism response and signaling theories, and provides novel managerial guidelines to sustainable hospitality managers.