Tourist views on green brands: The role of face concern

The global branding consultancy Interbrand has started to evaluate the world’s top brands based on their green credentials. Its rankings of Best Global Green Brands are based on how the brands perform in the areas of sustainability and environmental consciousness (Interbrand, 2012). The world’s leading hotels have increased their efforts in going green by making efforts to save energy and reduce wastes (Laing & Frost, 2010). Some researchers have started to investigate consumer reactions to social initiatives that benefit the community wellbeing (Nicolau, 2008). According to Kang, Stein, Heo, and Lee (2012), hotel guests (in particular, luxury and mid-priced hotel guests) with higher degrees of environmental concerns would have a higher willingness to pay premiums for hotels’ green initiatives. Chen and Peng (2012) demonstrate that tourists with a higher level of green hotel knowledge have a higher intention to stay at green hotels. Our study aims to extend the research on hospitality green consumption to a domain of personal value. We suggest that face concern (a personal value) would enhance consumers’ evaluation and purchase intentions for green hotel brands.