Prácticas "verdes" y co-creación de valor en la relación huésped-hotel: una aplicación en el contexto español y colombiano

En los últimos años, la creciente conciencia internacional acerca del cambio climático junto con sus efectos sobre el medio ambiente natural se ha hecho evidente. En este sentido, la responsabilidad ambiental se está convirtiendo cada vez más en un reto importante para todos los sectores económicos y, el sector turístico no es una excepción. El cambio climático es un fenómeno que ya afecta al sector turístico, en especial a zonas de montaña y regiones costeras. Atendiendo a esta realidad, cada vez un mayor número de hoteles ha aumentado sus esfuerzos para preservar los recursos, incorporando prácticas “verdes” en sus actividades diarias para cumplir un doble objetivo: por un lado, ser percibidas por parte de sus clientes como empresas medioambientalmente responsables y, por otro lado, reducir su impacto medioambiental en sus entornos naturales y sociales. Además, la rivalidad entre las empresas se ha incrementado y la diferencia entre sus productos se ha hecho casi imperceptible para los consumidores. Las oportunidades para diferenciar sus ofertas son escasas y, cada vez más empresas ven el valor para el cliente como un factor clave a la hora de buscar nuevas formas de lograr y mantener una ventaja competitiva. Para hacer frente a estos desafíos, es necesario modificar la forma de competir. Y, en este contexto, es donde la co-creación de valor se vuelve cada vez más importante. Este concepto se basa en la idea de que la principal competencia empresarial ya no está en la cadena de valor, sino en el punto de interacción entre el cliente y la empresa, siendo el primero considerado como co-creador de valor. El objetivo principal de esta Tesis Doctoral es examinar el impacto de las prácticas “verdes” y la co-creación de valor en las relaciones entre los huéspedes y los hoteles, y determinar cómo contribuyen, junto con otras variables como la imagen y la confianza, a generar la satisfacción y la lealtad de los primeros; y, analizar todo ello de forma comparada en el contexto español y colombiano. De esta manera, la primera parte de esta Tesis proporciona una revisión de la literatura sobre las variables de este estudio, en particular: prácticas "verdes" y co-creación de valor (Capítulo 1), imagen, confianza, satisfacción y lealtad (Capítulo 2) y las diferencias interculturales (Capítulo 3). Además, en la segunda parte, presentamos las hipótesis propuestas y la metodología utilizada (Capítulo 4) y el análisis de los datos y la presentación de los resultados de la investigación empírica (Capítulo 5). Por último, en la tercera parte se muestran las conclusiones, las implicaciones y las limitaciones de este trabajo (Capítulo 6). Nuestros resultados demuestran que las medidas ambientales implementadas por los hoteles y la co-creación son herramientas estratégicas clave, dado su papel esencial en la construcción no solo de la imagen, la confianza y la satisfacción de los huéspedes, sino también de la lealtad de los mismos. Además, el hallazgo de la influencia de la cultura en las relaciones del modelo da una luz para la comprensión del comportamiento de los huéspedes españoles y colombianos.Nowadays, environmental responsibility is becoming one of the priority challenges of the services sector in general and the hospitality industry in particular, being environmental sustainability recognised as an essential element in the marketing strategy. The “green“ concept, that appears in the nineties, is attracting increasingly the attention of hotels as well as consumers, gaining a greater importance in the last years. Because of the nature of their services and their functional characteristics, hotels are incorporating ”Green” Practices in their daily activities, with which they aim at contributing to a reduced negative impact on the environment. In addition to, rivalry between companies has increased and the differences between their competing products have become almost imperceptible for consumers. The opportunities to differentiate their offerings are scarce, and an increasing number of companies see value perceived by the customer as a key factor when looking for new ways to obtain and maintain a competitive advantage. To cope with these environmental challenges, it is necessary to modify the way to compete. And it is in this context where Value Co-creation becomes increasingly important. This concept is based on the idea that the main business competition is not anymore in the value chain, but in the point of interaction between customer and company, being the former a co-creator of value. The main aim of this Thesis is to study the impact of “green” practices and value co-creation in the relations between guests and hotels and to determine how these constructs contribute, together with other variables, such as image and trust, to generate customer satisfaction and loyalty, and to perform all these analyses comparing the Spanish and the Colombian context. In this way, the first part of this Thesis will provide a review of the literature on the variables of this study, in particular: “green” practices and value co-creation (Chapter 1), image, trust, satisfaction and loyalty (Chapter 2) and cross-cultural differences (Chapter 3). Besides, in the second part of this Thesis (i.e. empirical research) the hypotheses proposed and the methodology used will be presented (Chapter 4), followed by the data analysis and the presentation of the results of the market research (Chapter 5). Finally, the third part will wrap up conclusions, implications, limitations and, from all this, we shall derive the opportunity of further research (Chapter 6). Our results prove that the environmental measures implemented by hotels and co-creation are key strategic tools, given their essential role in the construction not only of image, trust and guest satisfaction, but also of customer loyalty. Moreover, we confirm the influence of cultural factors in all the constructs and the influence of culture in the relations of the model sheds light for the understanding of the behaviour of Spanish and Colombian guests

The importance of green practices for hotel guests: does gender matter?

Due to growing consumer awareness of environmental problems, more and more hotels have been developing green practices in response to the environmental concerns of their guests and improve their image. This study aimed to test a model for analyzing the incidence of green practices as drivers for generating positive hotel image and guest trust and satisfaction, evaluating the moderating role of guest gender in these relationships. Based on a personal survey of 302 guests at 3 and 4-star hotels in Bogota, evidence was obtained for the positive relationship between sustainable practices and the variables considered, with certain differences depending on the gender of each guest. Thus, this study highlights the importance for hotels located in developing countries of implementing green practices, in order to improve their image and increase the degree of trust and satisfaction of their guests to maintain long-term relationships

‘Green’ practices and value co-creation: does guest culture make a difference?

In an increasingly competitive environment, many hotels have implemented sustainable practices and have actively involved the guests in the generation of unique experiences through the value co-creation process. In this sense, this paper aims at analysing the impact of ‘green’ practices and value co-creation on hotel image, guest trust, satisfaction, and loyalty, and to assess the moderating role of culture, conceived as related to guest nationality. To test the model, a quantitative method based on a sample of 611 guests from Spain and Colombia was used. Our results indicated that there are significant differences based on the guests nationality regarding the effects of value co-creation and image on trust, image on satisfaction, and satisfaction on loyalty. These findings will allow hotel management to have a better understanding of tourists when designing their corporate strategies

Efeitos das práticas verdes na lealdade: proposta de um modelo para o segmento hoteleiro colombiano

The purpose of this study was to analyze the incidence of green practices as drivers to generate trust, satisfaction, and loyalty in guests. For this, from a sample of 302 hotel guests in Bogotá, Colombia, a structural equation model was estimated through the partial least squares regression. The results obtained evidenced that sustainable practices contribute to increasing the confidence and satisfaction of guests, which, in turn, positively influence their loyalty to the hotel. Furthermore, these results show that a deeper understanding of the profile of environmentally responsible tourists can help hotels to design an environmentally friendly business model.El propósito de este estudio fue analizar la incidencia de las prácticas verdes como impulsoras para generar confianza, satisfacción y lealtad en los huéspedes. Para ello, a partir de una muestra de 302 huéspedes de hoteles en Bogotá, Colombia, se estimó un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales a través de la regresión de mínimos cuadrados parciales. Los resultados obtenidos evidencian que las prácticas sostenibles contribuyen al aumento de la confianza y la satisfacción de los huéspedes, y que estas, a su vez, influyen positivamente en su lealtad hacia el hotel. Además, dichos resultados ponen de manifiesto que una comprensión más profunda del perfil de los turistas medioambientalmente responsables puede ayudar a los hoteles a diseñar un modelo de negocio amigable con el entorno natural.O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar a incidência de práticas verdes como motivadores para gerar confiança, satisfação e lealdade nos hóspedes. Para isso, a partir de uma amostra de 302 hóspedes de hotéis em Bogotá, Colômbia, estimou-se um modelo de equação estrutural por meio de regressão de mínimos quadrados parciais. Os resultados obtidos mostram que as práticas sustentáveis contribuem para aumentar a confiança e a satisfação dos hóspedes, e que estas, por sua vez, influenciam positivamente a sua fidelidade ao hotel. Além disso, esses resultados mostram que um conhecimento mais aprofundado do perfil do turista ambientalmente responsável pode auxiliar os hotéis a traçar um modelo de negócio que respeite o meio ambiente

Efeitos das práticas verdes na lealdade: proposta de um modelo para o segmento hoteleiro colombiano

The purpose of this study was to analyze the incidence of green practices as drivers to generate trust, satisfaction, and loyalty in guests. For this, from a sample of 302 hotel guests in Bogotá, Colombia, a structural equation model was estimated through the partial least squares regression. The results obtained evidenced that sustainable practices contribute to increasing the confidence and satisfaction of guests, which, in turn, positively influence their loyalty to the hotel. Furthermore, these results show that a deeper understanding of the profile of environmentally responsible tourists can help hotels to design an environmentally friendly business model.El propósito de este estudio fue analizar la incidencia de las prácticas verdes como impulsoras para generar confianza, satisfacción y lealtad en los huéspedes. Para ello, a partir de una muestra de 302 huéspedes de hoteles en Bogotá, Colombia, se estimó un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales a través de la regresión de mínimos cuadrados parciales. Los resultados obtenidos evidencian que las prácticas sostenibles contribuyen al aumento de la confianza y la satisfacción de los huéspedes, y que estas, a su vez, influyen positivamente en su lealtad hacia el hotel. Además, dichos resultados ponen de manifiesto que una comprensión más profunda del perfil de los turistas medioambientalmente responsables puede ayudar a los hoteles a diseñar un modelo de negocio amigable con el entorno natural.O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar a incidência de práticas verdes como motivadores para gerar confiança, satisfação e lealdade nos hóspedes. Para isso, a partir de uma amostra de 302 hóspedes de hotéis em Bogotá, Colômbia, estimou-se um modelo de equação estrutural por meio de regressão de mínimos quadrados parciais. Os resultados obtidos mostram que as práticas sustentáveis contribuem para aumentar a confiança e a satisfação dos hóspedes, e que estas, por sua vez, influenciam positivamente a sua fidelidade ao hotel. Além disso, esses resultados mostram que um conhecimento mais aprofundado do perfil do turista ambientalmente responsável pode auxiliar os hotéis a traçar um modelo de negócio que respeite o meio ambiente