| dc.description.abstract | Tourism and hospitality industry are a major contributor to the global economic
development, but it is also substantially linked to environmental degradation. In the
wake of alarming environmental problems which render sustainable development
infeasible, hospitality enterprises have picked up pace and put greater effort in finding
practical solutions. Through acquisition of third-party eco-certifications, hospitality
establishments show commitment to environmental conservation and seek continued
support from all stakeholders, especially their guests. However, guests’ participation
in green initiatives depends on their beliefs from which ecological perceptions are
formed. Hotel guests’ eco-perceptions can be barriers or enablers of successful
implementation of green practices. Drawing on the Theory of Reasoned Action and
Theory of Planned Behaviour, this study sought to find out the effects of eco-friendly
perceptions on guests’ behaviour in eco-rated camps at the Maasai Mara National
Reserve in Kenya. Specifically, the study sought to determine: the effect of perceived
behavioural consequences, perceived subjective norms and perceived behavioural
control on guests’ behaviour respectively. Additionally, the mediating role of
behavioural intentions on guests’ eco-friendly perceptions and behaviour was
determined. The philosophical position of the study was pragmatism with an
embedded mixed methods research design. The target population comprised of 44 ecorated
camp managers and 208, 620 visitors to the reserve. Ten camp managers were
purposively selected and 399 hotel guests were selected using clustered, stratified and
proportionate random sampling techniques. Questionnaires were administered to
guests and interviews were conducted with camp managers. Quantitative data was
presented using descriptive statistics which included frequencies, percentages, means
and standard deviation, and analysed using inferential statistics which were derived
from Structural Equation Modelling (SEM)-Partial Least Squares technique (PLS).
Qualitative data was analysed using narrative analysis. The study established that
perceived behavioural consequences (β=0.0317, p=0.005) and perceived behavioural
control (β =0.289, p=0.001) had significant direct effect on guests’ behaviour hence,
both null hypotheses were rejected. However, perceived subjective norms had no
significant direct effect on guests’ behaviour (β=0.008, p=0.36) hence, the null
hypothesis was adopted. Some managers reported that ‘… our guests feel very proud
of themselves when they are called upon to participate in one of the many tree planting
exercises…’‘…most of our guests are always eager to participate in low
environmental impact activities such as guided nature walks, culture talks, village
visits and bird watching…’‘…guests are very receptive to use of wax candles at
dinners…’. The study concluded that perceived behavioural consequences and
perceived behavioural control had significant effect on guests’ behaviour and that
behavioural intentions had partial mediation effect. The study recommended use of
messages which evoke positive emotions and paint a more optimistic picture of green
practices to encourage guests’ green behaviour. Additionally, sharing success stories
such as results of efforts by other guests would endorse eco-friendliness and boost
guests’ confidence in reducing environmental degradation. Future studies could adopt
a longitudinal approach to explore actual guests’ behaviour following appraisal of
their ecological perceptions, while a more homogenous sample would shed more light
on the role of perceived subjective norms in eco-friendly behaviour. | en_US |
