The effects of hotels’ environmental sustainability communication strategies on social Media engagement and brand advocacy: The roles of communication characteristics and customers’ personality traits

Abstract

Prior research has overlooked the significance of two distinct communication strategies used by hotels over social media platforms to foster environmental sustainability (ES), namely informative communication strategy (ICS) and engaging communication strategy (ECS). Understanding the role of these communication strategies in cultivating social media engagement (SME) with sustainability content, and deciphering the conditions that govern these relationships have yet to be addressed. The current study endeavors to fill these research voids. First, it investigates the effects of ICS and ECS on SME with sustainability content. Second, it examines the moderating effects of two key communication characteristics (perceived intensity and perceived transparency) and two customers’ personality traits (conscientiousness and extraversion) in the investigated relationships. Finally, it establishes the potential role of sustainability-oriented SME in generating online brand advocacy. Data from Japan-based online panelists were analyzed using AMOS 28. The results generally lend support to the study's hypothesized relationships. ICS and ECS are equally important in driving SME. Their effects are positively moderated by the intensity and transparency of the ES communication as well as by customers’ conscientiousness and extraversion. SME is positively associated with online brand advocacy. The article discusses the implications of the findings, and closes with the study's limitations and directions for future research.