Managers' risk perception and the adoption of sustainable consumption strategies in the hospitality sector: the moderating role of stakeholder salience attributes

Purpose

This study investigates the relationship between managers' risk perception and the adoption of sustainable water consumption strategies and analyzes the moderating effect of stakeholders' salience attributes on this relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

A conceptual framework that builds on the stakeholder theory was developed to illustrate the direct and moderating role of the study variables. The derived hypotheses were tested quantitatively using multiple regression analysis.

Findings

Results indicate that managers' risk perception and the three stakeholder salience attributes were significantly associated with sustainable water consumption strategies, and that the legitimacy attribute was a successful moderator between the study variables.

Research limitations/implications

The limited ability to generalize results as the study is centered on the hospitality sector. Although the results were comparable to other studies, it is not possible to claim that the findings represent the views of the majority of managers in different industry sectors.

Practical implications

The research highlights to managers in the hospitality sector, the significant influence of risk perception and stakeholder salience attributes on the adoption of sustainable water consumption strategies.

Social implications

The research revealed that media, consumers and competitors are powerful, legitimate and urgent stakeholders, respectively. Therefore, the research findings will guide policymakers and nonprofit organizations to support those stakeholders in order to strengthen their power, legitimacy and urgency attributes.

Originality/value

Although it has been claimed that risk perception has the potential to influence sustainable consumption of natural resources, few studies empirically investigated the association of risk perception of a specific environmental threat with responsible consumption. Moreover, even though there is general agreement in the literature that the adoption of sustainable water consumption strategies is shaped by the degree to which stakeholders exercise their salience attributes, studies that empirically examine the influence of these attributes within the hospitality sector are lacking. Therefore, this study fills a gap in the current literature by empirically examining the influence of managers' risk perception and stakeholder's salience attributes on firms' adoption of sustainable consumption strategies.