The fast development of China’s economy in the past two decades has created a series of CSR related problems, for instance, customer and employee rights, environmental pollution, natural resource shortage, and community relations. The effects of these issues on Chinese society have, to a degree, become a focus of a public debate aided by the emergence of the mobile Internet. Consequently corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies are being adopted by a growing number of Chinese companies, including those in the hotel sector. By adopting a composite methodology of qualitative and quantitative approaches, this thesis aims to obtain an understanding of hotel CSR policies in China from the guest’s perspective by identifying their assessments of a hotel’s CSR performance and the impacts that may follow for repeat purchasing intentions of hotel accommodation.
Based on a literature review, this thesis first proposed a four dimensional CSR scale, which covers customer, environment, employee and community, and then attempted to measure how customers perceive hotel CSR policies and the relevant consequences for their future patronage of a hotel. Additionally this thesis also introduced for the first time as far as the author is aware, the concept that a guest’s familiarity with CSR is a possible determinant of future repeat patronage. Subsequently a research model was proposed to reveal the influence of hotel CSR policies determining guests’ choice of hotel. A total of 817 valid questionnaires were collected, and the dataset was analyzed by SPSS 19.0 using reliability and validity analysis, exploratory factor analysis, cluster and discriminant analysis, ANOVA, multi-approach regression analysis and structural equation modeling. The followings results were obtained.
First, social demographic factors, that is gender, age, education background, occupation, income and marital status do not play significant roles in affecting customers’ purchase intention under the influence of CSR.
Second, five distinct types of customers were found to have different attitudes towards hotel CSR policies, which could positively affect their satisfaction level and future purchase intention. This result showed the diversity of customers in terms of CSR, and laid a theoretical foundation for hotel marketers to offer customers customized CSR policies in order to retain guests.
Third, two community related variables, namely hotels’ effort to provide local people with job opportunities and their respecting local culture and customs were found to be significant for guests’ purchase intention. Hotel managerial expertise was also found to have significance. The findings of other research that Chinese hoteliers’ efforts to create environmental friendly hotels is not a compelling reason for guests to book with a particular hotel, is also supported by this research.
Fourth, hotels’ efforts to market their CSR practices or policies could potentially exert direct impact over customers’ future purchase intention by making guests aware of the importance of CSR polices if basic guest needs are being met.
Last but not least, based on the results obtained from this research, suggestions for hotel management on how to enhance customers’ repeat consumption from a CSR standpoint were given, and future possible directions of similar research were also provided
