UNIVERSITY OF GHANA GREEN MARKETING PRACTICES AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN SELECTED HOTELS IN GHANA BY TRACY NANA EBASKWA MALLEN-NTIADOR (10550429) THIS THESIS IS SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF MARKETING & ENTREPRENEURSHIP, UNIVERSITY OF GHANA BUSINESS SCHOOL, UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON, IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF A MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY (MARKETING OPTION) DEGREE JUNE 2017 DECLARATION I do, hereby, declare that this thesis work is the result of my own research and has not been presented by anyone for any academic award in this or any other university. All references used in the work have been duly acknowledged. I bear sole responsibility for any shortcomings. …………………………….. ……………………………… TRACY N. E. MALLEN-NTIADOR DATE (10550429) i CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that this thesis was supervised in accordance with procedures laid down by University of Ghana, Legon. .………………………………… …………………………….. DR. ERNEST YAW TWENEBOAH-KODUAH DATE (PRINCIPAL SUPERVISOR) ………………………………….. ……………………………….. DR. MAHAMA BRAIMAH DATE (CO-SUPERVISOR) ii DEDICATION To my darling husband, Tony Mallen-Ntiador; my children: Mborti, Mawiignen, Wumbornen and Maabeen and my mother, Martha Karikari Blay, whose encouragement I’ll forever cherish. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The road to academic achievement is a long and a challenging one, which without support can hardly be achieved. In the course of this research, several people offered varying assistance and deserve to be acknowledged. First and foremost, I express my profound appreciation and gratitude to Almighty God and His Son Jesus Christ for giving me life, good health and spiritual motivation to complete this research. I am grateful to Dr E. Y. Tweneboah-Koduah, the Head of Department and my primary supervisor, for his advice, supervision, critique and crucial contribution to enriching the quality of this work. I gratefully acknowledge Dr Mahama Braimah, my secondary supervisor, for his counsel, mentorship and crucial contribution to enhance the originality of this thesis and nourished my intellectual maturity that I will benefit from, for a long time to come. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to John Paul Kosiba (JP), Kojo Twum, Madam Salomey, Dr Raphael Odoom, Dr George Acheampong and Dr Thomas Anning-Dorson for inspiring me to learn the intricacies of the data analysis. I cannot forget about my godsons, Joseph Oppong Kyeremeh and Richard Boakye, who immensely helped in the course of my study. My colleagues Matilda Adams and Francisca Duah-Agyemang. I am also grateful to Joseph Amankwah of the Ghana Tourism Authority and the staff of Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City, Movenpick Ambassador Hotel, Labadi Beach Hotel, African Regent Hotel, Fiesta Royale Hotel, Accra City Hotel, La Palm Royal Beach Hotel, Golden Tulip Accra Hotel, Holiday Inn, Airport View Hotel and Swiss Spirit Hotel & Suite for their massive support in the collection of data for this research. This acknowledgement would be incomplete without the show of appreciation to my husband, Tony, and children, Mborti, Mawiignen, Wumbornen and Maabeen for their enduring love and coping with my absence from home. iv ABSTRACT Green marketing has become a concern for customers patronising services from various industries. They are becoming more sensitive to issues concerning the environment. Customers not only actively seek goods and services that satisfy their needs, but are also environmentally friendly. This concern for green marketing practices is becoming even more critical in the hotel industry as the sector has been described as the silent destroyer of the environment. Unfortunately, research on green marketing in the hotel industry is still at its development stage, and this necessitates an expansion of the literature and theory. Though several studies have been conducted on green marketing issues in general and the hotel industry in particular, not much attention has been paid to its impact on the satisfaction of hotel guests, even though customer satisfaction is critical to the success of a hotel. This study, therefore, examined the green marketing practices of selected hotels in Ghana and determined its impact on guest(s) satisfaction. A structured questionnaire was administered to hotel guest(s). Data were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM). The study revealed four of the green marketing practices (food and beverage quality, energy conservation, air quality and noise pollution) have a statistically significant impact on guest(s) satisfaction. The following demographic factors (gender, age, nationality and level of education) also significantly impacted the relationship between green marketing and customer satisfaction. It is recommended that management of hotels improve their green marketing practices with respect to food quality, energy conservation, air quality and noise pollution as the dimensions significantly impacted guest’s satisfaction in this study. Management should also pay particular attention to age, gender, level of education and nationality as they also affect how guest(s) perceive their relevance on green marketing practice. It would be good for future researchers to broaden the scope of the study to cover hotels at the lower end of the market to establish whether the factors would hold true for that segment of the sector. Future studies could also cover other industries so that the relevance of these green marketing practices to customer satisfaction in other industries could be determined. v TABLE OF CONTENT Content Page DECLARATION ........................................................................................................................ i CERTIFICATION ..................................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION .......................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ......................................................................................................... iv ABSTRACT ...............................................................................................................................v TABLE OF CONTENT ............................................................................................................ vi LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................x LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................... xi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................1 1.0 Introduction .......................................................................................................................1 1.1 Background of the Study ...................................................................................................1 1.2 Problem Statement ............................................................................................................3 1.3 Research Objectives ..........................................................................................................5 1.4 Research Questions ...........................................................................................................5 1.5 Justification for the Research .............................................................................................5 1.6 Significance of the Study ...................................................................................................6 1.7 Chapter Disposition ...........................................................................................................7 CHAPTER TWO: CONTEXT OF STUDY ............................................................................... 10 2.0 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 10 2.1 The Hospitality Industry .................................................................................................. 11 2.2 Global Tourism Perspective ............................................................................................. 11 2.3 The African Tourism Perspective .................................................................................... 12 2.4 Ghana’s Tourism Context ................................................................................................ 12 2.5 Ghana’s Hotel Sector ....................................................................................................... 14 2.5.1 Growth of the Hotel Sector ....................................................................................... 15 vi 2.5.2 Hotel Room Occupancy Rates................................................................................... 17 2.5.3 Contribution of the Hotel Sector to the National Economy ........................................ 17 2.5.4 The Hotel Environment in Ghana .............................................................................. 18 2.6 The Ghana Tourism Authority ......................................................................................... 19 2.7 Regulations Governing the Hotel Industry in Ghana ........................................................ 21 2.8 Categorization of Accommodation Enterprise in Ghana ................................................... 22 2.9 Trade Associations in the Tourism Industry ..................................................................... 23 2.10 Chapter Summary .......................................................................................................... 24 CHAPTER THREE: LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................................... 25 3.0 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 25 3.1 Evolution of Green Marketing ......................................................................................... 25 3.2 Definitions of Green Marketing and Sustainable Development ........................................ 27 3.3 Benefits of Green Marketing ........................................................................................... 32 3.4 Challenges of Green Marketing ....................................................................................... 34 3.5 Green Strategies and Initiatives ....................................................................................... 36 3.6 Green Hotels ................................................................................................................... 38 3.7 Reasons to Go Green in Hotels ........................................................................................ 42 3.8 Customers’ Viewpoints of Green Hotels .......................................................................... 44 3.9 Green Practices and Customer Satisfaction ...................................................................... 48 3.10 Conceptual Framework and Hypotheses Development................................................... 50 3.10.1 Conceptual Framework ........................................................................................... 64 3.10.2 Components of the Conceptual Framework ............................................................. 50 3.11 Chapter Summary .......................................................................................................... 66 CHAPTER FOUR: METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................... 67 4.0 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 67 4.1 Philosophical World Views ............................................................................................. 67 4.2 Research Paradigm .......................................................................................................... 68 4.3 Research Design or Approach.......................................................................................... 71 vii 4.4 Types of Data .................................................................................................................. 72 4.5 Data Collection Instrument .............................................................................................. 75 4.6 Questionnaire Designing ................................................................................................. 76 4.7 Pilot Test of Questionnaire .............................................................................................. 77 4.8 Target Population ............................................................................................................ 73 4.9 Sample Frame of Study ................................................................................................... 73 4.10 Sampling Size of Study ................................................................................................. 74 4.11 Research Sampling Technique ....................................................................................... 74 4.12 Justification of Sampling Technique for the Study ......................................................... 75 4.13 Primary Data Collection Process.................................................................................... 78 4.14 The Reliability and Validity of the Scale ....................................................................... 79 4.14.1 Reliability ............................................................................................................... 79 4.14.2 Validity ................................................................................................................... 80 4.15 Ethical Consideration .................................................................................................... 80 4.16 Analytical Strategy ........................................................................................................ 80 4.17 Descriptive Statistics ..................................................................................................... 81 4.18 Statistical Analysis ........................................................................................................ 81 4.18.1 Confirmatory Factor Analysis ................................................................................. 82 4.18.2 Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) ..................................................................... 83 4.19 Moderation and Mediation Analysis .............................................................................. 84 4.20 Chapter Summary .......................................................................................................... 87 CHAPTER FIVE: PRESENTATION OF RESULTS AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS ....... 88 5.0 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 88 5.1 Data Screening and Treatment of Missing Data ............................................................... 88 5.2 Demographic Profile of Respondents ............................................................................... 88 5.3 Assessment of Normality ................................................................................................. 91 5.4 Confirmatory Factor Analysis .......................................................................................... 93 5.5 Assessment of Measurement Model................................................................................. 94 5.7 Assessing Structural Model ............................................................................................. 98 5.8 Analysis of Hypothesised Relationships .......................................................................... 98 viii 5.9 Test for Variance of Demographic Variables ................................................................. 101 5.9.1 The Difference between Age and Customer satisfaction of Green Marketing Hotels102 5.9.2 The Difference between Gender and Customer satisfaction of Green Marketing Hotels ........................................................................................................................................ 103 5.9.3 The Difference between Nationality and Customer satisfaction of Green Marketing Hotels. ............................................................................................................................. 104 5.9.4 The Difference between Education and Customer satisfaction of Green Marketing Hotels .............................................................................................................................. 106 5.10 Discussions of Findings ............................................................................................... 107 5.10.1 The Impact of Green Marketing Practices on Customer Satisfaction...................... 108 5.10.2 The Relative Significance Impact of Green Marketing Practices and Customer Satisfaction in Hotels. ...................................................................................................... 108 5.10.3 Impact of Demographic Variables on the Relationship Between Green Marketing Practices and Customer Satisfaction ................................................................................ 112 5.11 Chapter Summary ........................................................................................................ 115 CHAPTER SIX: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................... 116 6.0 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 116 6.1 Summary of Major Findings of the Study ...................................................................... 116 6.2 Conclusions ................................................................................................................... 119 6.3 Recommendations for Future Research .......................................................................... 121 6.4 Recommendations for Industry Practitioners.................................................................. 123 6.5 Chapter Summary .......................................................................................................... 124 REFERENCES ....................................................................................................................... 125 APPENDIX ............................................................................................................................ 158 Sample Questionnaire ......................................................................................................... 158 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1: Tourists Arrival and Receipts .................................................................................. 14 Figure 2.2: Growing Trends of Hotels ....................................................................................... 15 Figure 2.3: Hotel, Rooms & Beds Growth Trends ..................................................................... 16 Figure 3.1: Schematic overview of a typical hotel’s interaction with the environment, negative externalities generated and technical & behavioural solutions.................................................... 47 Figure 3.2: Conceptual Framework ........................................................................................... 65 Figure 5.1: Structural Model for Hypothesis Testing ............................................................... 101 x LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1: Travel & Tourism Contribution to Ghana’s Economy ............................................... 13 Table 2.2: Tourist Arrivals in Ghana ......................................................................................... 14 Table 2.3: Room Occupancy Rates of Star Hotels ..................................................................... 17 Table 2.4: Annual GDP 2015 .................................................................................................... 18 Table 2.5: Hotels and Restaurants-Distribution of GDP (at Basic Prices) by Economic Activity 18 Table 3.1: Summary of Hypotheses ........................................................................................... 64 Table 4.1: Research Paradigm ................................................................................................... 70 Table 4.2: Measurement Sources of Green Marketing Practices ................................................ 77 Table 5.1: Demographic Variable .............................................................................................. 90 Table 5.2: Descriptive Statistics and Test of Normality of Variables ......................................... 92 Table 5.4: Reliability and Discriminant Validity........................................................................ 96 Table 5.5: Fit Measurement ....................................................................................................... 98 Table 5.6: Structural Model Assessment Results ....................................................................... 99 Table 5.9: The Effect of Nationality on Customer Satisfaction of Green Marketing Practices .. 105 Table 5.10: The Effect of Education on Customer Satisfaction of Green Marketing Practices .. 106 xi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AIRQ - Air Quality AMA - Accra Metropolitan Area AMA - American Marketing Association AMOS - Analysis of Moment Structures AVE - Average Variance Extracted CA - Cronbach’s alphas CFA - Confirmatory factor analysis CFI - Comparative Fit Index CID - Criminal Investigation Department CR - Composite reliability CS - Customer satisfaction DEP - Department of Environmental Protection DV - Demographic variables EFA - Exploratory factor analysis ENCON - Energy Conservation FOQ - Food Quality GDP - Gross Domestic Product GFI - Goodness-of- fit index GHA - Ghana Hotels Association GHATOF - Ghana Tourism Federation GMIP - Green Management in Practice GMP - Green marketing practices xii GTA - Ghana Tourism Authority HOTCATT - Hotel, and Catering and Tourism Training Institute HVAC - Heating, ventilation and air conditioning IES - Illuminating Engineers Society IT - Information technology ITP - International Tourism Partnership NFI - The Normed Fit Index NOPO - Noise Pollution RMSEA - Root Mean Square Error of Approximation SATISF - Satisfaction SEM - Structural equation modelling SPSS - Statistical Package for Social Sciences TLI - Tucker-Lewis Index UNWTO - The United Nations World Tourism Organization- WACON - Water Conservation WAMA - Waste Management WCED - World Commission on Environment and Development WTTC - World Travel & Tourism Council xiii CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.0 Introduction This study seeks to investigate green marketing practices on customer satisfaction in hotels in Ghana. This chapter thus provides a general perspective of the research, starting with the background for the study, the problem statement, research objectives, justification and significance of the research, and the research structure. The final stage of this chapter would be the chapter disposition for the rest of this study. 1.1 Background of the Study In this contemporary time, consumers have become sensitive to issues related to the environment, and they, therefore, seek products and services that meet their needs and at the same time are environmentally-friendly (Han, Hsu & Sheu, 2010). With this, business organisations or industry players must produce goods and services to strategically meet these demands by their consumers. This has given rise to the concept of green marketing, which is the “holistic management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying the requirements of the customers and society in a profitable and a sustainable way” (Peattie, 1999, p. 131). Gitobu and Njoroge (2015), also indicates that companies can achieve their objectives if they engage in green practices to be efficient, thus using limited resources to meet consumers’ needs without endangering the livelihoods of the future generation. The hospitality industry, just like any other industry, is concerned with issues related to environmental pollution. A study conducted by Ashrafi, Seow, Lai and Lee (2013) indicated that 1 consumption of energy, water and materials while operating a hotel business, accounts for about 75% of environmental pollution. This clearly depicts that, generally the hotel industry is one of the biggest consumers of energy, water and other resources which subsequently makes them generate a larger amount of waste, thereby increasing the rate of environmental pollution. This actuated the evolution and adoption of green practices in the various operations of hotels globally. According to Manaktola and Jauhari (2007), certain names like an eco-friendly hotel, environmentally-friendly hotel and green hotel are terms used for hotels that are geared towards green practices of which some are: conservation of water and energy and the reducing solid waste. The authors further noted that the benchmark for green hotels to be successful is the application of the 3Rs which are to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. This has been adopted by certain hotels around the world in their quest to become environmentally-friendly and have become more responsible in the reservation of resources by utilising them cautiously as an acceptable way of operating a business (Tzschentke, Kirk & Lynch, 2004). It has also become increasingly clear that customers have become conscious of environmental problems that are caused by the activities of the hotel industry and therefore seek the services of eco-friendly hotels (Han, Hsu & Sheu, 2010). The hotel industry is striving to provide quality service which is essential for customers as the quality of service is an antecedent of customer satisfaction (Caruana, 2002; Han & Ryu, 2009). Quality of service is a judgement made by a customer. It is perceived as the outcome of an encounter between the person providing the service and the receiver of the service, after which the customer would make an evaluation of the quality received to ascertain whether he or she had satisfaction or dissatisfaction (Bitner, Booms & Tetreault, 1990; Cronin, Brady & Hult, 2000). Service quality is therefore essential for companies 2 trying to satisfy their customers as, it costs more to attract new customers than to maintain the existing ones (Fornell, 1992). Green marketing practices in the hotel industry could be seen as an opportunity and a good marketing strategy that can yield a competitive advantage for hotels (Manaktola & Jauhari, 2007) especially when it positively impacts on customer satisfaction. These issues led to the identification and formulation of the problem statement for this research. 1.2 Problem Statement The hotel industry is known as “the silent destroyer of the environment” (Punitha, Aziz & Rahman, 2016). This is because most of their activities generate large volumes of waste which harm the environment in the long run (Leonidou, Leonidou, Fotiadis & Zeriti, 2013). A situation like this should warrant the attention of researchers and academics alike. Unfortunately, this does not appear to be the situation. For instance, Rahman, Park and Chi (2015) assert that the hospitality literature has rarely explored the grey area of green marketing practices which makes it an area that needs more research. Myung, McClaren and Li (2012) also suggest that the concept of green marketing in the hotel industry is still at its development stage, necessitating an expansion of literature and theory. This study attempts to contribute to the body of knowledge in green marketing issues in the hospitality industry. Customer satisfaction is significant to all businesses and scholars have studied the influence of various business practices on client gratification. In the hotel industry, for instance, extant literature indicated that the criteria for measuring customer satisfaction include factors such as the purpose of travel, age and gender (Callan & Kyndt, 2001; McCleary, Weaver & Lan, 1994; Perera & Pushpanathan, 2015; Wei, Ruys & Muller, 1999). Lockyer (2002), and Pizam and Ellis (1999) 3 used the quality of staff and service delivery to measure customer satisfaction. Similarly, Callan and Bowman (2000) used cleanliness to measure consumer gratification in the lodging business. The concept of green practices has largely not been studied to determine its impact on customer satisfaction. Again, the extant literature indicates that green marketing is a new concept and most of the studies on this phenomenon are conceptual (Cherian & Jacob, 2012; Polonsky, 2008; Prothero, 1990 & Rao, 2002). It is therefore important to empirically test green marketing to ascertain its impact on customer satisfaction. The concept of green marketing has also caught the attention of scholars in Ghana, though not much attention has been paid to its impact on customer satisfaction. For instance, Braimah and Tweneboah-Kodua (2011), investigated Ghanaian consumers’ awareness of green marketing issues and whether it impacted on consumers’ purchase decisions. Again, Braimah (2015) studied “the factors that determine the relationship between customer awareness of green brand issues and their everyday purchase intentions”. Green issues have also been investigated specifically in hotels in Ghana, and again, its impact on guests’ satisfaction has not been prominent. For instance, Mensah (2006) investigated the environmental management policies and practices, and also the level of adoption and implementation of environmental management practices of hotels in the Greater Accra Region. Mensah and Blankson (2013) also explored the issues that accounted for the environmental performance of hotels. They studied the socio-demographic features of managers and organisational characteristics that determine the environmental performance of hotels in Ghana. From the above-cited studies, it is obvious that not much attention has been paid to how green marketing practices affect customer satisfaction, particularly in the hotel industry. 4 Specifically, there is the need to investigate how these green marketing practices impact on customer satisfaction in hotels in Ghana. 1.3 Research Objectives In general, the objective of this research is to examine the impact of green marketing practices on customer satisfaction in selected hotels in Ghana. The specific objectives are: 1. To establish the impact of green marketing practices on customer satisfaction. 2. To examine the relative significant impact of the dimensions of green marketing practices on customer satisfaction. 3. To determine the impact of demographic variables on green marketing practices and customer satisfaction. 1.4 Research Questions 1. What impact does green marketing practices have on customer satisfaction? 2. What is the relative significance of the dimensions of green marketing practices on customer satisfaction? 3. What are the differences among various demographic variables on green marketing practices and customer satisfaction? 1.5 Justification for the Research Research on green practices with its subsequent impact on customer satisfaction will be very significant to the various stakeholders. The hotel industry is an integral part of the tourism industry it the largest industry in the world, attracting diverse customers globally (Britton, 1991; Plog, 5 2001). A recent study by Tzschentke, Kirk and Lynch (2008) shows that, hotels across the world have been charged with the responsibility of moving in the direction of eco-friendly activities. This is an outcome of hotels’ quest to provide customers with their needs, and they are increasingly adopting green marketing strategies. Customer satisfaction, when it comes to products or services, it is very paramount for the achievement of business objectives, hence it has become very crucial to understand customers satisfaction with regards to green practices by hotels. This is because customers derive their product or service satisfaction from a critical evaluation of their expectations and perceptions before consumption and the real presentation of the invention or amenity afterward ingesting (Oh, 1999). 1.6 Significance of the Study As previously mentioned by Myung, McClaren and Li (2012), the green marketing concept is comparatively new, so this study will serve as a guide and a comparative tool for future researchers who would like to study green practices and its impact on customer satisfaction in the hotel industry. A critical analysis of Ghana’s hotel industry shows that the industry is faced with many challenges such as high operational cost with its greater share being energy cost (Ghana News Agency, 2016). Thus, the research will enable academia and industry players in the hotel sector to get deep insights on green practices and sustainable development and its impacts on customers’ satisfaction. Green marketing practice is gradually gaining the attention of the regulatory bodies that govern the hotels and the general public as well (Banerjee, 2001). The results of this investigation are anticipated to be useful for the monitoring of policy makers so they can formulate policies that will focus on 6 environmental enhancement and conservation. The study will also be of relevance to academicians and researchers who might share an interest in green practices and customer satisfaction by conducting a similar or same research in a different context. Finally, since the study examines green marketing practices on customer satisfaction in the hospitality sector, the findings are expected to have a positive impact on green marketing practices in the hotel industry. Hotels that practice green marketing could have a competitive edge over hotels that do not engage in green practices as it impacts on customer satisfaction. 1.7 Chapter Disposition The study comprises six chapters as outlined below: Chapter One: Chapter one gives an outline of the research. It also covers areas such as the background of the research, research problem, objectives of the study, justification and significance of the research and the organisation of the research. Chapter Two: Chapter two entails the literature reviews from previous studies that have been conducted in the area of green marketing and sustainable marketing, benefits and challenges associated with green marketing practices, green hotels, and the impact of green practices on customer satisfaction. This chapter also looks at the conceptual frameworks and the hypotheses derived from the literature reviews. 7 Chapter Three: The third chapter also looks at the background of the study context, the hospitality industry, an overview of the hotel industry in Ghana, growth of the hotel sector, hotel room occupancy rates, the contribution of the service and hotel sector to the national economy, then the hotel environment in Ghana. This is followed by the general history of the Ghana Tourism Authority and lastly regulations governing hotel operations in Ghana. Chapter Four: The Chapter Four consists of the research methodological approach which focused on the research strategy, paradigm, the sampling techniques and sampling size that were employed in the research. The data collecting tools, methods used and how the data was processed and analysed were also discussed under this chapter. Chapter Five: Chapter five presented the findings from the study. The data collected were analysed quantitatively using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software and interpreting it using structural equation modelling (SEM). The findings were further discussed, outlined and compared with previous research. Also, based on the research questions and hypothesis, a report on the empirical evidence of green marketing practices and customer satisfaction in Ghana was looked at with detailed discussions. Chapter Six: The final chapter which is the chapter six, presented the summaries and conclusions of the study with recommendations to the various stakeholders and their managerial implications. Also, future research in the area of green marketing practices by hotels and their impact on customer satisfaction were discussed. 8 Table 1.1: Chapter Disposition Numbers Outline One Background of the Study Two Context of the Study Three Literature Review and Conceptual Framework Four Methodology of the study Five Findings and Discussions Six Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations Chapter Summary The present study examines ecological marketing methods and consumer gratification in the hospitality sector in Ghana. This section summarises the grounds for the research. It also gave the background of the study as well as the practical significance of this study. The structure of the thesis was also explained in this chapter of the study. 9 CHAPTER TWO CONTEXT OF STUDY 2.0 Introduction This chapter deliberates the context in which the study is being conducted. The study was conducted in Accra which comprises of 11 sub-metros of the Accra Metropolitan Area (AMA), Ga East Municipal Area, Ga West Municipal Area and Ga South Municipal Area, Adenta Municipal Area and the Ledzokuku Krowor Municipal Area. The study area is on the east coast of Ghana and it was preferred because it happens to have the largest concentration of all classes of hotels in Ghana. The Greater Accra Region accounted for 40% of all hotel rooms in Ghana (Ghana Tourism Authority [GTA], 2015). The capital city, Accra, serves as the commercial and political hub of Ghana, with a concentration of several manufacturing and services companies for both government and private entities. The city is also a home for cultural, educational, political and administrative functions of Ghana which indisputably makes it the most urbanised city in Ghana. Accra is also an exciting tourist destination with popular attractions like the National Museum, National Theatre, Centre for National Culture, Independence Square, Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum, Accra International Conference Centre, Christianborg Castle, Osu Oxford Street, Makola Market and other thrilling places (Braimah, 2014). It also has the highest concentration of hospitality facilities in Ghana, including restaurants, night clubs and classes of hotels. It is considered as the gateway to West Africa, linked internationally by the Kotoka International Airport and locally by domestic flights and first-class roads to other cities across the country (GhanaWeb, 2011; Mensah & Blankson, 2013). 10 In this contemporary time, tourism has gained prominence and it is considered to be one of the major economic forces which have achieved rapid growth over the years. Debrah (2013) on his article ‘The Economic Power of Tourism shows that the tourism industry is one of the fast-growing sectors in the 21st century and the third biggest international export following petroleum and motor vehicles in Ghana. This shows that tourism is a major contributor to the growth of Ghana’s economy because it could be a major source of government revenue through foreign exchange and employment (GTA, 2015). 2.1 The Hospitality Industry Generally, the hospitality industry is a leading employer and a major service sector that contributes largely to the world’s economy. The industry comprises of different service industries such as hotels and food services and it has been further categorised into two parts, thus the accommodation part and the entertainment part which consists of the clubs and bars. The accommodation is in the form of motels, serviced apartments, hostels, campgrounds, resorts, inn, and public houses. The clubs and bars category takes the form of restaurants, nightclubs and fast foods (GTA, 2015). Some tourism support commercial activities undertaken by the hospitality industry are travel agents and cabin staff, the application of technology in the tourism industry like ‘applied information technology’ (IT) and its workers in the travel and tourism are all part of the hospitality industry (GTA, 2015). 2.2 Global Tourism Perspective A report by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC, 2017) states that, the impact of travel and tourism on the growth of an economy and the country’s social development is enormous in 11 such that, it creates business, trade and capital investment, jobs and entrepreneurialism for the workforce whereas protecting the heritage and culture values as well. WTTC (2017) further indicates that US$7.6 trillion (10% of global GDP) and 277 million jobs (1 in 11 jobs) for the global economy in 2014 was generated alone from travel and tourism. This shows a true representation of how the tourism industry is growing at a faster pace compared to other major sectors such as the health care, financial services and the automotive industry. The WTTC (2017) report further demonstrated how the increasing numbers of tourists globally had gone up reaching close to 1.14 billion with visitors or tourists spending more at their various destinations. It also appeared that visitors or tourists from emerging economies amounted to 46% of international arrivals which is an increase from 38% in the year 2000. This is a clear indication that, there is growth and increased opportunities for these new markets. 2.3 The African Tourism Perspective According to WTTC (2017) report for the direct contribution of travel and tourism to GDP in 2016 was USD66.4bn (3.1% of GDP). This was primarily generated by industries such as hotels, travel agents, airlines and other passenger transportations. In relation to employment, travel and tourism produced 8,359,500 jobs directly in 2016 (2.6% of total employment) and this forecast is expected to grow by 2.1% in 2017 to 8,533,500. 2.4 Ghana’s Tourism Context The direct contribution of travel and tourism to GDP in 2016 was USD 1,278.4mn (3.0% of GDP) and this mainly reflects the economic activities generated by industries such as hotels, travel agents, airlines and other passenger transportation services, (excluding commuter services). It also 12 includes, for instance, the activities of the restaurant and leisure industries directly supported by tourists. With regards to employment in Ghana, travel and tourism generated 288,000 jobs directly in 2016 (2.4% of total employment) (WTTC, 2017). Table 2.1: Travel & Tourism Contribution to Ghana’s Economy Ghana 2016 (USD 2016 2017 Million1) (% of Total) (Growth2) Direct contribution to GDP 1,278.40 3 5.6 Total contribution to GDP 2,967.10 7.1 5.2 Direct contribution to employment4 288,000 2.4 4.7 Total contribution to employment4 693,000 5.9 3.9 Visitor exports 964.6 6.1 5.3 Domestic spending 1,265.60 3 5.4 Leisure spending 1,332.30 1.8 8.4 Business spending 897.9 1.2 0.7 Capital investment 250.5 2.7 -0.3 12016 constant prices & exchange rates; 22017 real growth adjusted for inflation (%); 3'000 jobs. Source: WTTC 2017 The tourism information on Ghana shows that in 2015 (Figure 2.1) the total tourist arrival in Ghana was 1,202,200 indicating a total of 10% with revenue receipts of two million, two hundred and seventy-five thousand and two hundred dollars ($2,275,200) for 2015. This is tacit indication that the tourism sector in Ghana has been growing steadily and contributing to the nation’s development as depicted by Figure 2.1. 13 Figure 2.1: Tourists Arrival and Receipts GHANA TOURIST ARRIVAL AND REVENUE 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Arrivals 746.5 821.2 903.3 993.6 1093 1202.2 Receipts(US $ Million 1406.3 1548.3 1704.7 1876.9 2066.5 2275.2 Source: Ghana Tourism Authority (2015) Similarly, the international tourist arrivals generated a total amount of one million and ninety-three thousand visits (1,093,000) from different countries. Table 2.2: Tourist Arrivals in Ghana 2012 2013 2014 903,300 993,600 1,093,000 Source: Ghana Tourism Authority (2015) 2.5 Ghana’s Hotel Sector The hotel sector in Ghana has seen tremendous growth over the years. This section discusses the hotel sector in terms of the growth of hotels, rooms and beds. This section further discusses the room occupancy rates and contribution to the national economy. The regulatory body of hotel 14 ARRIVAL AND RECEIPTS management and operations will also be discussed together with hotel categorization of accommodation and hotel classification. 2.5.1 Growth of the Hotel Sector The stability of the Ghanaian political system and continuous growth of the economy contributed to the fast growth of the hotel sector. The number of hotels grew from 992 in 2000 to 1,797 in 2010. By 2015 the total number of hotels stood at 2,724. Likewise, the number of rooms in 2000 was 13,641 and the number of beds stood at 17,558 in 2000. Figure 2.2 gives the growing trend of the hotel sector. Figure 2.2: Growing Trends of Hotels GROWING NUMBER OF HOTELS FROM 2000 3000 2,724 2500 2,570 2,228 2,136 2000 1,833 1,775 1,797 1,595 1500 1,427 1,432 1,315 1,345 1,250 1,169 HOTELS 1000 1,053992 500 0 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 Yearb of Growth Source: Ghana Tourism Authority, 2015 From Figure 2.3, at the end of 2015, the number of hotel rooms and beds were 44,754 and 49,216 respectively. From 2000 to 2015, the number of hotels, rooms and beds grew by 175%, 222.1% 15 Number of Hotels and 180.31% respectively. A total number of budget hotels are 1,894 and guest houses are 182 making a total number of 2076 small hotels, constituting 76.2% of the total number of 2724 hotels in Ghana as at 2015. The star rated hotels as at 2015 are 648 and represent 23.8% of licensed hotels in Ghana. Figure 2.3: Hotel, Rooms & Beds Growth Trends Hotels, Rooms and Beds Growth Trends 60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,000 0 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 ROOMS 13,64 15,45 16,18 17,35 18,07 18,75 22,83 20,58 24,41 26,04 28,05 34,42 29,41 36,74 41,33 44,75 BEDS 17,55 19,64 21,44 22,90 23,53 23,92 27,83 26,06 29,64 31,66 34,28 39,93 32,10 40,17 45,50 49,21 Source: Ghana Tourism Authority, 2015 16 Number 2.5.2 Hotel Room Occupancy Rates The regulatory body that maintains records on the rates of occupancy is the Ghana Tourism Authority. The study covers a fifteen-year period from 2000 to 2015. The 5 and 4-star hotels have the highest average hotel room occupancy rates, registering almost 75.7% and 76.9% respectively, the 2-star hotel recorded the lowest occupancy rates of about 61.8%. See Table 2.3. Table 2.3: Room Occupancy Rates of Star Hotels Grade 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 5 77.8 72.1 73.4 74.2 74 79 86.3 94.4 93 74.1 66.03 69.93 69.63 68.73 62.73 4 71.4 76 80.6 76.1 78.5 81.6 81.6 87 85.9 81.1 80.88 69.66 69.66 72.42 60.75 3 64.1 62.4 65 63.1 66.5 68.2 79 69.9 65.4 65.2 52.23 53.53 53.53 72.1 62.84 2 68.33 66.58 70.75 68.95 70.88 76.62 88 64.3 52.9 54.2 42.58 48.42 48.42 57.24 49.08 Source: Ghana Tourism Authority, 2015 2.5.3 Contribution of the Hotel Sector to the National Economy The service sector is one of the main contributors to the Ghanaian economy. The sector is also one of the main contributors to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). For instance, in 2006 the sector contributed 48.8% to GDP as against the contribution of 20.8 % and 30.4% in the industry and agricultural sectors respectively. The service sector contributed 51.1% in 2010, 49.1% in 2011, 49.1% in 2012, 49.8% in 2013, 51.9% in 2014, and 54.4% in 2015 to GDP (Table 2.4). 17 Table 2.4: Annual GDP 2015 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015* AGRICULTURE 30.4 29.1 31.0 31.8 29.8 25.3 22.9 22.4 21.5 20.3 INDUSTRY 20.8 20.7 20.4 19.0 19.1 25.6 28.0 27.8 26.6 25.3 SERVICES 48.8 50.2 48.6 49.2 51.1 49.1 49.1 49.8 51.9 54.4 Source: Ghana Statistical Service Fact Sheet as at December 2016 The hotel and restaurant sector is a major driving force in the service sector. The hotel sector made a significant contribution to Ghana’s GDP over the years. The table below shows the Distribution of Gross Domestic Product (at Basic Prices) by Economic Activity in the Hotel industry. In 2015 the restaurant sector alone contributed 5.9% to Ghana’s GDP. Table 2.5: Hotels and Restaurants-Distribution of GDP (at Basic Prices) by Economic Activity 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015* In Percentage 5.0 5.6 6.0 6.2 6.0 5.4 4.8 5.8 5.6 5.9 (%) In Millions 894 1,210 1,716 2,196 2,593 3,007 3,517 5,256 6,099 7,599 (GHc) Source: Ghana Statistical Service Fact Sheet as at December 2016 2.5.4 The Hotel Environment in Ghana Ghana is a West African Country which shares a border with Togo, Cote D’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and the Gulf of Guinea. It's estimated total population is 28,033,375 with a land area of 238,000 square kilometres (Ghana Statistical Service, 2016). Ghana is characterised by its several mineral resources, attractive tropical weather, wildlife and vegetation, rich and diverse cultural heritage, 18 colonial slave castles, pristine beaches, friendly and sociable people. The hotel sector in Ghana is very viable and has experienced massive development since the early 1990s. The country has institutions that regulate the operations of the tourism industry in general and the hotel sector in particular. The tourism ministry which was established in 1993 is solely responsible for tourism activities in the country. The ministry is responsible for initiating and formulating tourism policies, undertaking tourism development planning and monitoring and evaluating the performance of the industry. Other government units that play roles in the industry include the Ghana Tourism Authority and Hotel, and Catering and Tourism Training Institute (HOTCATT). HOTCATT is mandated to develop the human resources capacity for the industry. The operation of the Tourism Authority is governed by the Tourism Act 2011 (Act 817). The Act creates and vest powers in the body known as Ghana Tourism Authority (Braimah, 2014). The hotel sector is one of the major sectors of the tourism industry and is regulated by GTA and the provision of the Tourism Act. 2.6 The Ghana Tourism Authority The vision of the Ghana Tourism Authority which is spelt out in the Tourism Act is to see the country become the ‘Tourism Capital’ of West Africa, focusing especially on culture, heritage as well as ecotourism and conference tourism. The GTA is responsible for creating an enabling environment to ensure the development of sustainable and quality tourism facilities and services. The Authority develops guidelines to license and regulate tourism enterprises including accommodation and catering services. The Ghana Tourism Authority is mandated by Act 817 to keep and regularly update a register of licensed accommodation and another tourism establishment 19 in the country. An accommodation establishment cannot operate as such if it is not registered and approved by the Authority. A tourism enterprise applying for approval to operate as a hotel will have to furnish GTA with several permits including business registration certificate, building permit from City Engineer’s department or appropriate authority, police permit in respect to security of the premises and criminal records of owner/proprietor and key personnel, fire safety certificate and suitability from the Ghana National Fire Service. A business wanting to provide accommodation is granted permission for 12 months upon application and payment of fees and is subject to renewal upon expiry. Act 817 requires accommodation enterprise to maintain a register, capturing particulars of guests as specified by the GTA. Below is a list of required permits in Ghana for operating a Hotel. • Required Permits for Hotel Operation in the country 1. Certificate of Incorporation (Business Registration Certificate) 2. Certificate to Commence Business 3. Company Regulations 4. Site Plan and Basic Building Drawings 5. Evidence of Ownership of Premises (Indenture/ Lease/ Tenancy Agreement) 6. Building Permit 7. Development or Change of use permit from Town and Country Planning Department 8. Report from the Police (CID) on the security of premises and criminal records Proprietor / Manager and Key personnel of Unit. 20 9. Suitability report from the Ghana National Fire Service 10. Environmental Health Suitability Report from District/ Municipal/ Metropolitan Assemblies 11. Suitability Report from the Environmental Protection Agency (if 40 rooms or located in eco-sensitive area) 12. Feasibility Report/ Business Plan (3 – 5 Stars) Source: Ghana Tourism Authority, 2015. 2.7 Regulations Governing the Hotel Industry in Ghana Accommodation and catering Enterprise Regulations, 1979 (L.I 1205) specify issues that have to do with lighting, ventilation, display of rates, and a properly maintained facility in a good state of repair and a properly maintained drainage system. Other issues in the L.I.1205 has to do with the comfort of the guest, including the provision of clearly marked toilets and baths, the provision of the lift where the facility is more than three floors and the provision of alternative lighting devices in the event of power failure. Other provisions in the regulation take care of the health needs of the guests. Hotels are required to provide first aid kits. Where a facility has more than 100 rooms, a clinic with the full-time qualified nurse is to be employed to man the outfit. A facility with more than 100 rooms is also required to retain the services of a medical doctor who would be called to the facility when the need arises. As stated by (Braimah, 2014) the accommodation facilities are also required to make adequate provision for security services. Efforts are made by hotels to prevent the activities of prostitutes and other prostitution practices from their facilities. Other issues such as parking space for vehicles and facilities for water storage are required to be provided by the hotels. Detailed specifications about the size of the guest rooms, bed and wardrobe must be 21 indicated as well. There are other provisions relating to the hygienic provision of food and drinks in the hotels. Employees must be declared medically fit before they are allowed to work in the hotel environment. Staff must undergo medical screening twice a year. To ensure the quality of service, personnel are required to undergo refresher training at least once a year. 2.8 Categorization of Accommodation Enterprise in Ghana The Tourism Act categorises accommodation enterprise in Ghana into five, that is, category A to E. Hotels, resorts and motels are under category A. Catering rest houses, budget hotels, guest houses and game lodges/eco-lodges are under category B. hotels and homestays are under the C category. Category D is made up of the tourist homes, service flats and holiday apartments. Tourist campsites and caravans are categorised under Category E. There are other supplementary enterprises that are also regulated by GTA they include, movie houses, spa and health farms, theme parks golf courses, commercial tennis facilities, gymnasia and commercial swimming pools. Hotels, resorts, motels are classified according to the star system and standards, which are commensurate with international requirements. The hotel sector is divided into five classes, namely: • One-Star – 4th class • Two-Star – 3rd class • Three-Star – 2nd class • Four-Star – 1st class • Five-Star – Luxury The GTA describes a motel as an accommodation facility located on the outskirts or in the countryside near a major highway. Its guests are usually tourist on transit. The buildings of a motel 22 may be laid independent units or as a single block of independent units. A garage or carport is located in the immediate vicinity of the guestrooms. Resorts, on the other hand, refer to accommodation facilities located on spacious grounds and offer a central basic theme activity with a wide range of supporting activities as well as extensive leisure and recreational facilities in addition to full serviced guest rooms and chalets. Guesthouses are accommodation facilities that have met the standard for 1-2 Star hotels but have limited guestrooms, having only 4 and 9 guestrooms with running hot water and air condition in all the rooms. Budget hotels, on the other hand, are accommodation enterprise whose standards are below the required standards of the star system, that is, does not require air condition and water heater in all the rooms. This study focuses on three to five star rated hotels which are operationalised as luxury hotels in Ghana. 2.9 Trade Associations in the Tourism Industry Tourism enterprise operators are represented by various trade associations that promote and protect the interest of their members. These associations represent such businesses as travel agents, tour operators, vehicle rental enterprise, drinking bar operators, traditional caterers, restaurants and night clubs, and hotels. The Ghana Hotels Association (GHA) is the trade association that represents the hotel sector. The Ghana Tourism Federation (GHATOF) represents all trade associations in this area of businesses. GHATOF exists to coordinate the activities of the various individual trade associations and to empower them to effectively articulate their concerns. Ghana Hotel Association (GHA) is a voluntary association made up of business enterprises that have been licensed by Ghana Tourism Authority to provide lodging services to the public. The 23 association was founded in 1975 and its aims to promote vibrancy in the hotel sector where qualified personnel would provide quality service and maintain international standards. GHA aims to be an effective and instrumental advocate in shaping policies that promote the hotel sector. The association also provides training and assistance to its members. The GHA has a total number 648 as its membership. This is made up of three (3) 5-star hotels, seven (7) 4-star hotels, ten (10) 3- star hotels, eighty-one (81) 2-star hotels and one hundred and thirty-three (133), 1-star hotels in the Greater Accra region. The association also has six hundred and twenty-four budget hotels (624) and eighty guesthouses (80) of the membership of Ghana Hotel Association in the Greater Accra Region. 2.10 Chapter Summary This chapter discusses the context in which the study was carried out. It first looked at the importance and significance of the tourism industry, then the contribution of the industry to the world and the Ghanaian economy as well. The growing trend of the sector over the years was also looked at. The accommodation sector which has been augured to be the largest sub-sector in the tourism industry was discussed. The size of the hotel sector and growth to the economy has been discussed. The institutional and regulatory framework governing the operations of the sector and the categorization of the sector was also discussed. The study also explored trade associations that represented the hoteliers in the industry. 24 CHAPTER THREE LITERATURE REVIEW 3.0 Introduction This chapter presents an overview of the extant literature on green marketing practices and the green marketing concepts. Also, the benefits and challenges associated with these practices will be reviewed. Green strategies and initiatives used by organisations will also be deliberated on. What makes a hotel green, reasons for hotels becoming green, customers’ viewpoints on why hotels go green and extant literature on green practices and customer satisfaction would also be discussed. The chapter then concludes with a discussion on the conceptual framework and the research hypotheses. 3.1 Evolution of Green Marketing There has been a significant increase in the awareness of various dangers that are associated with the environment globally. This has also called for the attention of many stakeholders, considering this as a major challenge which needs an immediate solution (Schlegelmilch, Bohlen & Diamantopoulos, 1996). Kirk (1995) then concludes that the hotel industry contributes largely to the various environmental challenges present today. Gonzalez and Leon (2001) also note that the complex nature of the services hotels provide and its interactions with the environment contribute to various levels of damages. This means that several environmental problems such as changes in biodiversity and climate changes are caused by some activities by the operations of the hotel industry (Gössling, 2002). In addition, local environmental problems such as soil erosion, landscape degradation, and exhaustion of water resources, health hazards and noise are also caused by hotels (Gonzalez & Leon 2001). These environmental problems have called for the adoption 25 and implementation of environmental policies such as government regulations, consumer demand, social responsibility and cost gains (Iwanowski & Rushmore 1994; Foster, Sampson & Dunn, 2000). The evolution of the green marketing strategy is an innovative way by which hotels can project themselves as being environmentally-conscious by redesigning their services, operation and delivery of services while lessening the effects on the environment (Pride & Ferrell, 2010). According to Gitobu and Njoroge (2015), the green marketing concept is very fundamental because of the basic definition of Economics: that is, “Economics is the study of how people use their limited resources to try to satisfy unlimited wants”. This makes green marketing theories and concept very keen on environmental economics and sustainable development. Even though green marketing gained prominence in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Leonidou and Leonidou (2011) argue that, scholars included environmental issues in their marketing and management researchers since the late 1960s. This conforms to an assertion which was made by Henion and Kinnear (1976) which showed that the American Marketing Association (AMA) discussed green marketing issues in 1975 at their workshop which was dubbed “Ecological Marketing”. Henion and Kinnear (1976) further explains that the proceedings of the workshop were fundamental in writing the first green marketing book called “Ecological Marketing”. According to Peattie (2001), green marketing and its evolution have been a transition which can be categorised into phases. Phase one which is also termed as “Ecological”, was a period where marketing activities were geared towards identification and solving of environmental problems by providing remedies to curb them. The second phase was also considered as “Environmental,” which focused on the application of clean technology through innovative and new products which was intended to reduce pollution and the amount of waste that is generated through the use of 26 product and services. The third phase was called “Sustainable”, which was also a green marketing practice that came into existence in the late 1990s and early 2000. 3.2 Definitions of Green Marketing and Sustainable Development According to Polonsky (1994), the nature of green marketing makes its definition a little bit complex because the term has been associated with different terminologies: environmental marketing (Coddington,1993; Peattie, 1995), ecological marketing (Fisk, 1974; Henion & Kinnear, 1976), green marketing (Chen, 2010; Chen & Chang, 2012; Ginsberg & Bloom, 2004; Hartmann, Ibanez, & Sainz, 2005; Leonidou, Katsikeas & Morgan, 2013; Peattie, 1999, 2001; Ottman, 1993), sustainable marketing (Fuller, 1999, 2000; Van Dam & Apeldoorn, 1996), greener marketing (Charter, 1992; Charter & Polonsky, 1999), environmental marketing management (Peattie, 1995), environmental product differentiation (Reinhardt, 1999), entrepreneurial marketing (Menon & Menon, 1997), and sustainability labelling schemes (De Boer, 2003). Chamorro, Rubio and Miranda (2009) also confirm that these terms are related in a way; even though they have different conceptual meanings, they represent the same ideology or concept of green marketing and therefore are used interchangeably. Likewise, supporting the argument of Polonsky (1994), Punitha, Aziz and Rahman (2016) mentioned that, comprehending the relationship between the natural environment and the operation of business activities, have drawn the attention of economists, sociologists and environmentalists. Although the theory is characterised by multifaceted phases, it is said to lack an in-depth understanding (Punitha et al., 2016). The American Marketing Association (AMA) also viewed green marketing as products that are positioned in the minds of people to be 27 environmentally friendly or safe. This could take the form of conscious effort activities such as product modification, packaging, changes to production processes, strategies and also increase awareness of compliance marketing amongst industries which are all geared towards providing a green product or service. Also, green marketing was seen from the perspective of a corporate strategy by Menon and Menon (1997) in such that, it forms an integral part of the corporate strategy which includes a wide range of activities which includes but not restricted to, changes in the production process, product modifications, change in packaging, elaborate advertising and many others. Furthermore, ecological marketing can be taken from the perspective of studying both the positive and negative facets of marketing activities on pollution, energy depletion and non-energy resource depletion (Henion & Kinnear, 1976). Polonsky (1994) further postulates that green marketing encompasses activities that have been consciously designed to create and facilitate exchanges that is focused on satisfying human needs or wants while causing little or no harm to the natural environment. Charter and Polonsky (1999) also see green marketing to be the marketing or promotion of products or services with regards to its environmental performance. Another perspective of green marketing was taken in the context of customer satisfaction and sustainability by Peattie (1999, p.131) that, it is a “holistic management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying the requirements of the customers and society in a profitable and a sustainable way”. Prakash (2002) also indicates that green marketing refers to the act of employing tactics to promote products through the use of environmental claims pertaining to product attributes or the operations of the company. 28 Kotler and Armstrong (2009) define green marketing as marketing that meets the present needs of consumers and businesses whilst protecting or enhancing the capability of future generations to meet their needs. Green marketing is a philosophy to develop, practice and communicate environmental mission-focused business operations that result in improved corporate reputation and market performance (Lu, Bock & Joseph, 2013; Stainer & Stainer, 1997). Charter (1992, p. 120) also conceptualised green marketing as a “holistic and responsible strategic management process that identifies, anticipates, satisfies and fulfils stakeholder needs, for a reasonable reward, that does not adversely affect human or natural environmental well-being”. Liu, Kasturiratne and Moizer (2012) also argue that, although many scholars have suggested different definitions for green marketing, there seem to be three main dimensions or views to all the definitions. The first facet is the linkage between the identification and satisfaction of green customers and the promotion of products that are environmentally-friendly. This dimension of green marketing is supported by Banyte, Brazioniene and Gadeikiene (2010, p.375), with their definition of green marketing as “determining the need to know the new, so-called green consumer and to adapt marketing decisions to the focus on ascertaining the expectations and satisfying the needs of such a consumer”. The second view of green marketing is derived from the classical marketing mix which consists of the traditional 4Ps (that is, Product, Price, Promotion and Place), bringing it together with the triple bottom line objectives (Needle, 2010). For instance, Violeta and Gheorghe (2009) suggested the green marketing strategy mix by mentioning six dimensions which are Planning, Process, Product, Promotion, People and Eco-efficiency (5Ps+EE). The third view of green marketing however suggests that, green marketing goes beyond just relating green customers and the marketing mix, but rather includes other facets of corporate demand 29 management like, forecasting the demand for environmentally-friendly products, positioning and demand stimulation for recycled and remanufactured products, generating demand for build-to- order products, and building competitive advantages from a focus on environmental priorities (Sharma, Iyer, Mehrotra & Krishnan, 2010) Although all the above definitions seem different with regards to the researcher’s interest, which is to examine the influence of ecological marketing forms on consumer fulfilment in selected hotels in Ghana, they bring out a central theme which seeks to encourage marketers to protect and preserve the natural environment while they engage in their various marketing activities in the interest of this present and future generations. In a nutshell, green marketing looks at satisfying human needs and wants without causing harm to the environment. Firms have adopted green marketing as one of the strategies they can leverage on to achieve sustainable development. Sustainable marketing has become a leading factor which seeks to transform how companies operate in this contemporary time (Charter, 1992). This clearly indicates the relevance of sustainability and how it should be the hallmark of the philosophy of green marketing and also inform other stakeholders to see it as the way forward. In doing this, Banerjee (2001) also argue that, in a typical business environment, sustainability does not entail only green practices but how marketing meets the needs of its people is paramount. The word ‘sustainability’ became important and gained lots of attention in the 1980s, with the formation of the World Conservation Strategy and the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED). Sustainability, however, doesn’t have a specific definition and therefore poses a challenge to either implement it practically or operationally (McCool & Martin, 1994). 30 Though this challenge exists, the most widely used definition of sustainability is the one by the WCED in the Brundtland Report of 1987, which states that, “it is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Brundtland, 1987, p.125). In the quest to practice green marketing and achieve sustainable development, Punitha, Aziz and Rahman (2016) mention the following primary practices that should be done; improvement of energy-efficient operations or renewable energy, pollution control mechanisms, water-saving equipment, environmentally friendly products, biodegradable and recyclable materials. This also conforms to an assertion which was made by Dief and Font (2010) that, green marketing and sustainability rational needs an all-inclusive approach to consider a wide range of activities but not solely green communication. Other scholars have also suggested the holistic or all-inclusive approach which incorporates activities such as planning, new product development, changes in the production process, logistics, packaging, pricing, distribution and promotion and advertising should be highlighted in the green marketing process (Ottman, 1998; Peattie, 1999; Polonsky & Rosenberger, 2001; Welford, 1995). The various discussions about the various definitions of green marketing and sustainable development do not only focus on the end product; somewhat it takes into consideration the impact it will have on the overall life cycle of the product or service. This is simply because, the development of a product cannot be separated from its consumption and its effects on the environment (Fuller, 1999, 2000; Shrivastava, 1995). 31 3.3 Benefits of Green Marketing Literature suggests that there are so many reasons why companies are increasingly adopting the use of green marketing. For instance, companies recognise green marketing as an opening that can be used to accomplish its objectives (Mendleson & Polonsky, 1995). This suggests that the company will be at a better competitive edge to incarcerating the increasing number of green consumers. Thus, companies will appreciate an increase in market share as to that of their competitors. Also, some companies that engage in green marketing practices see it as their ethical responsibility to be socially responsible. This act of being socially responsible allows them to have a strong brand compared to that of their competitors which obviously lead to a good public reputation and good image of the company. (Bansal & Roth, 2000; Davis, 1992; Freeman & Liedtka, 1991). Therefore, these companies have the tendency of being more attractive to customers which eventually reinforce their brand image that leads to customer satisfaction, increase revenue and greater company assessment. Additional benefits for companies engaging in green marketing is the cost allied with waste disposal, or decreases in material usage which has made firms to adjust their methods of operations and behaviours (Azzone & Manzini, 1994). For instance, Lash and Wellington (2007) note that, because pollution is a clear indication of waste, companies that control pollution and decrease inputs benefit from waste cost saving advantage. They further indicate that a well-enhanced energy efficiency and a decrease in the waste can help green companies to recover the fiscal expenses needed to fund green initiatives. Banerjee (2001) argue that operation benefits of implementing green marketing practices help companies to set objectives which are geared towards achieving environmental enhancements that are real and also conform to both national and international 32 levels. The continuance of this can be seen as a practice, that’s environmental management practice, only if the strategic staff who are responsible are not changed. Furthermore, Arvidsson (2004) states that the execution of green marketing practices boosts the morale of employees. For example, employees are usually the discoverers of green practices and including them in decision making will increase staff confidence and efficiency. This is because employees will have a high sense of involvement which makes them believe they are equally responsible for everything that happens in the company. Similarly, Gupta and Aggarwal (2012) states that the benefits that are associated with green marketing help companies to have a sustained long-term growth which eventually leads to profits, even though the adoption of green practices is associated with high costs, companies stand a chance of profiting in the long run. Ottman (1998) also shares the same view that the benefits of green marketing and sustainable development include the use of less raw material and energy which eventually cut down cost, making companies who put up green innovations more profitable by enjoying a competitive advantage. Moreover, from the customers’ perspective, customers become loyal to companies with green initiatives because it makes them feel good being associated with such a product or brand which increases brand loyalty and market share. Similarly, customers feel fulfilled and tend to live healthier lives when they are exposed to green practices by companies who practice green marketing. In addition, with green practices, a good physical environment is provided because there is a reduction of air and water pollution, natural resources, and energy, which are good factors in the quest for sustainable development (Ottman & Books, 1998). 33 3.4 Challenges of Green Marketing Green marketing is a new concept and there are some challenges associated with it. Peattie and Crane (2005) acknowledged five marketing practices which might be a hindrance to green marketing and they are: i. Green spinning. Where the organisation reacts to a green claim by allowing their public relations to deny or discredit the public’s criticisms against the company’s practices. ii. Green selling. This is where the organisation takes the opportunity to add some green claims to existing products with the aim of increasing sales. iii. Green harvesting. The firm becomes passionate about the environment because they to save cost (e.g., in terms of energy and material input inefficiencies, package reductions). iv. Entrepreneur marketing. Innovating green products without really considering what the consumers truly want. v. Compliance marketing. Use environmental legislation as an opportunity to promote the company’s green credentials without taking initiatives to go beyond responding to regulations. Another key challenge associated with green marketing is that customers become uncertain about how credible, valid and useful a green marketing is. The reasons behind this can be attributed to some factors which include, the increase in the number of companies who are seeking environmental and social credentials, the rise in customer complaints about misleading claims after getting exposed to fake green products and consumers expressing their concerns about the manner in which advertisements are presented and made about some green-themed products (Leonidou, Leonidou, Palihawadana & Hultman, 2011). Kinoti (2011) also articulates that, adoption of green marketing strategies is expensive and tough to implement in the short run, yet the benefits of the 34 environment are insubstantial, ancillary or unimportant to consumers and hard to quantify because the cost that is saved over recycling doesn't seem to be real. Arvidsson (2004) also recognised some hindrances to implementing green marketing as the inadequacy of resources such as time and money; organisational dynamics; regulations which induce the public to demand environmentally-friendly products; inability to identify challenges and short-term economic thinking, just to mention but a few. He further goes on to state that the complexity and scope of a company can contribute largely to the challenges that are experienced by companies when implementing green marketing practices. Again, Kiran (2012) indicates that consumers would want to associate themselves with green products, but most companies who claim to be green lack credibility of their green products which usually creates confusion among customers. So, the disciples of green products and services must show some sense of limpidity with regards to marketing green products to ensure consumers’ confidence without them thinking that the laws or standards of products or businesses practices have been breached. Mendleson and Polonsky (1995), Peattie and Crane (2005), and Wong, Turner and Stoneman (1996) also confirm this by saying that, among all the major limitations, the main aspect which donates much to the criticism against green marketing is consumer suspicion about green products, green claims and the companies’ intention as well as practices. Governments have been charged with the responsibility to take a leading role in establishing regulations which will ensure fair green marketing practices with the aim of increasing the confidence customers have in green marketing. Governments can actively play two major roles to promote green marketing; the first one could be the provision of established motivations to 35 companies such as sponsorships and funding research and development on green products (Smirnova, Naudé, Henneberg, Mouzas & Kouchtch, 2011). Again, individuals can promote greening marketing by providing education on the relevance of green products. This will provide adequate information to customers and improve the knowledge of consumers on environmental issues and the responsibility the society needs to play that regard. This will eventually serve as a guide for patrons to build the model of green consumption (Deng & Huang, 2009). 3.5 Green Strategies and Initiatives Several green marketing strategies have been identified by researchers, among them are the 4Ps of the marketing mix generally used in the marketing (Perreault, Cannon & McCarthy, 2013). These are demonstrated to be still appropriate and applicable to modern marketing (Anderson & Taylor, 1995). This marketing mix comprises of product, price, promotion and place being the elements that can be used to formulating a marketing strategy (Perreault et al., 2013). Other green strategies are environmental policies, customers’ green preferences and attitudes toward green practices (Han, Hsu & Sheu 2010). A number of strategic models have been propounded my many scholars which are all geared towards the application of green marketing strategy. For instance, Mensah and Blankson (2014), Jarvis and Ortega (2010), and Han, Hsu and Sheu (2010) developed the universal strategic models as a green marketing strategy while Schaffer (1987) also developed a strategy for a specific lodging industry. Roome (1992) also argues that organisations such as the lodging industry may use either reactive or pro-active strategy for their ecological practices. Explaining further, a reactive strategy has to do with the tracking of change that is brought by social, scientific and legislation on the 36 environment while the pro-active strategy is where management constantly addresses environmental problems through management systems which can be verified and also challenge the current management conventions for change. A pro-active organisation, therefore, need to see ecological concerns as a good strategy which they can leverage on to develop systems that can accommodate the new strategy to make the green marketing a reality. This strategy usually involves a high budget and expenditure to implement depending on the kind and level of environmental quality the organisation needs to attain (Brown, 1996). Roome (1992) further suggested two ecological pro-active response strategies which are the compliance plus strategy and the excellence strategy. The major difference between these two strategies has to do with the scale of the organisation’s ecological ethic and the level of how the organisation wants to adopt a change to support the corporate ecological ethic. Likewise, Brown (1996) also identifies two pro-active responses or strategies that have to do with the ecological concerns that companies may consider. Similarly, the difference between the strategies is cost. The high-cost option tends to set the company’s profile high above others to the level that it may gain a competitive advantage and be a leading green practising company. However, the low-cost option will just project the company’s image as a green practising company but with a minimal cost involved. With this, a change in the organisation’s strategy must be matched with the changes to the control system once an organisation decides to adopt a pro-active strategy. This change will also include the individual mechanisms within the control system allowing environmental reporting just as that of financial information reporting. This will involve a shift from the performance appraisal on financial principles to the use of non-financial principles and also let environmental reporting become part of the reporting requirements of managers (Chan, 37 Chan & Hsu, 2016; Gray, Bebbington & Walters, 1993; Brown, 1996). The hotel industry is not an exception to the environmental performance of companies and therefore managers should see it as an integral part of the appraisal system (Ayuso, 2006). Brown (1996) cited that, quite a number of hotels have come up with their own green marketing programs and initiatives which comprise of the newsletter on ‘green’ issues, the formation of environmental committees and ‘green bedrooms’. Green Hotels Association (2014) has also suggested some sound green practices which include water and energy savings, reduction of solid waste and cost saving. Mensah (2014) postulates that, when it comes to the hotel sector, the areas that need the attention of green practices include waste recycling, waste management, clean air, energy and water conservation, environmental health, maintenance of permits like building permits and compliance with legislation, purchasing policy and environmental education. This study, therefore, uses mostly the areas of ecological concern in the lodging industry as the foundation for customer satisfaction to assess variables or parameters that are related to green marketing practices. Thus, these practices are water conservation, energy conservation, waste management, air quality, noise pollution and the use of organic food. 3.6 Green Hotels The term “green” could also be known as eco-friendly, environmentally-friendly, ecologically- friendly hotels or sustainable hotels (Han, Hsu & Lee, 2009; Pizam, 2009). According to Wolfe and Shanklin (2001), green denotes activities that decrease the negative effects on our environment such as, recycling and eco-purchasing. Green Hotels Association, established in 1993, has as its 38 goal, to upsurge hotels’ interests in environmental issues (Bohdanowicz & Martinac, 2003). Followed by Green Seal in the United States, Environmental Choice in Canada, and Green Management in Practice (GMIP) in Norway, all aiming at encouraging hotels to understand the essence of environmental protection (Bohdanowicz & Martinac, 2003). Literature provides several definitions for a green hotel which are essentially identical in context. Honey (2003) suggested that the notion behind the green hotel is to serve customers or guests with a natural accommodation, fresh and comfortable environment, a wide range of green services and products. The Green Hotels Association (2014) stated that, green hotels are environmentally-friendly entities whose managers are interested in coming up with initiatives and programs to save water, energy and decrease solid waste. These practices save costs whilst protecting the earth as well. The Green Hotels Association (GHA) (2014) and Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), (2001), also explain a green hotel as an eco-friendly lodging entity that has instigated several green practices and introduces comprehensive and environmentally-friendly initiatives to preserve the environment and operate at a minimal cost. Iwanowski and Rushmore (1994) also indicate that a green hotel is one that has changed its equipment, policies, and practices to reduce its strain on the environment. The hotel cautiously scrutinises the current structures and effective measures, particularly in the areas of water conservation, energy conservation, solid waste management and air quality. Kasim (2004) also integrates socio-economic factors into the definition of the green hotel by way of seeing green hotels as hotels that function in a responsible way towards its employees, local culture, the local community and the surrounding ecology. Watkins (1994) simplifies this definition by saying that green hotels can be categorised by hotels that devise 39 strategic ways to not harm the environment but make it better in the course of their business operations. The Green Hotels Association (2014) also says, a green hotel is a hotel that seeks to create a good environment and inspires its employees and customers to partake in the various green activities. It must also ensure that every operation or activity is geared towards the reduction of negative impacts on the environment. Erdogan and Baris (2007), in their study, defined green hotel as a hotel that assesses the environmental conditions prior to its construction and subsequently attempts not to increase negative impacts on the environment. In analysing the above definitions, the goals of green hotels are to publicise the awareness of environmental protection and sensitise the staff, service providers and the operational process as well as facility managers and constructors to save energy, reduce wastes and save costs. It is said that the growing civic anxiety is rousing the implementation of environmentally responsible management in the hotel industry (Manaktola & Jauhari, 2007; Wolfe & Shanklin, 2001). Thus, quite a number of hotels are joining the green Association to lessen the negative impacts on the environment and ultimately increasing their profits as well (Pizam, 2009; Wolfe & Shanklin, 2001). According to the GHA (2009) and DEP (2001), some of the common practices among green hotels are energy conservation, environmental cleaning, eco-friendly/organic foods, fresh air, water recycling/conservation, recycling bins, towel re-use program, durable service items, cotton towels and linens for air quality, donations to charity and educating staff about green practices. Han and Kim (2010) also suggest that, a green hotel must typically meet the following standards: energy- efficient accommodation, ensure safety of guests, use of non-toxic elements, dependence on the 40 natural environment, provision of environmental training programs, must be ecologically sustainable, should have a proven contribution to conservation, incorporation of cultural considerations, the hotel must perform their corporate social responsibility in the community within which they operate as well as following the strict green guidelines of green hotels. Correspondingly, since the lodging or accommodation industry is a leading consumer of resources with a wide range of consumption including land, construction materials, carpet, paint and wood, fixtures and furnishings, cleaning supplies, food, and equipment like air conditioners, computers, elevators and furnaces. There is also a high consumption of water and power because hotels are active 24 hours a day, year in and year out, using water and power throughout the day for general operations, cleaning, and guest use. Some of the simple physiognomies of a green hotel, according to Han and Kim (2010), are the use of organic cotton sheets, towels and mattresses, non-smoking environment, renewable energy sources like solar or wind energy, housekeeping use of non-toxic cleaning agents and laundry detergent, guest room and hotel lobby recycling bins, bulk organic soap and amenities instead of individual packages to reduce waste, towel and sheet re-use, for instance, guests can tell housekeeping to leave these slightly used items to reduce water consumption, on-site transportation with green vehicles, energy-efficient lighting, use of non- disposable dishes, serving organic and local-grown food, offering a fresh-air exchange system, not forgetting grey water recycling, which is the reuse of kitchen, bath and laundry water for garden and landscaping and newspaper recycling program. Inferring from Erdogan and Baris (2007), Gil, Jiménez and Lorente (2001) and Kirk (1995), there are numerous stages a hotel takes to minimise its effect on the environment which makes it difficult 41 getting a definition for the green hotel. A hotel may have engaged in a very comprehensive phase to decrease energy consumption by the installation of more efficient thermostats in hotel guest rooms. While another may have created recycling programs and linen re-use programs. Again, a hotel may decide to adopt the policy water conservation and air quality. Another may also consider the use of organic food and noise reduction management in their hotel. All these practices are eco- friendly that makes the hotel a green hotel because they are all taking steps to preserve the environment. However, certification programs have developed levels of “greenness” for the hotels. For instance, Mensah (2004), Nicholls and Kang (2012), and Sasidharan, Sirakaya and Kerstetter (2002) found out that hotels that partake in recycling are considered at the basic level, whereas those who take more intensive and broad steps are considered at higher levels. Even though defining a green hotel is challenging, even with the certification programs, hotel managers and staff who decide to go green share common beliefs and objectives. Thus, the environment is an essential part of their organisation and mission and they purposely go green with the aim of protecting the environment to meet the needs of the future generations. Going green, as the International Tourism Partnership [ITP] (2008) says, “helps hotels focus on sustainability and achieve goals for better environmental management”. 3.7 Reasons to Go Green in Hotels The literature explains that hotels adopt green practices for a number of reasons. These include strengthening employee organisational commitment, economic benefits, improved investor relations, general social good and facing public scrutiny (Juholin, 2004; Rahman, Reynolds & Svaren, 2012). The undesirable impact of hotel industries on the environment also affords it an 42 opportunity to promote its corporate social responsibility in a sensitive way. It does this through embracing eco-friendly practices, educating its staff and customers and influencing complementary industries such as hotel suppliers. These accomplishments help both the environment and the hotel industry itself because travel and tourism to a large extent hinge on the attraction of local environments (Bohdanowicz & Martinac, 2003; Rahman et al., 2012). Bansal and Roth (2000) says, there are three core inducements for organisations to go green, and they are legitimation, competitiveness and ecological responsibility. Legitimation takes the form of adhering to all environmental regulations to avoid a sanction or a complete shutdown. Legitimate organisations are lawful and they are always responsive than preventive when it comes to sustainability issues. Competitiveness replicates the chunk that adopting green practices improves productivity, thus it increases long-term profitability not just cutting down on costs by helping customers to also save. Ecologically-responsible also suggests that the organisations opt for green just because it is the right thing to do. This conforms to an assertion which was made by Rahman, Reynolds and Svaren (2012) that doing the right thing is associated with considerable financial benefits and also going green adds more value to the image of the brand in this contemporary marketplace. Rahman et al. (2012) further suggested that the customer is another reason why an organisation will go green because formerly, the behaviour of customers was not predictable but in recent years of economic and climate uncertainties, the behaviour of customers can be predicted. For instance, in the automobile industry, high gas or fuel prices have impelled consumers to buy energy-efficient cars or change their driving patterns (Rahman et al., 2012). This made automakers in Detroit to be charged with the responsibility of developing new strategies to meet the needs of consumers. 43 Similarly, guests or customers of hotels anticipate hotels to adopt a similar approach by going green, and if a hotel fails to adopt eco-friendly practices, it stands a high chance of losing potential customers to competitors who practice and communicate the adoption effectively (Butler, 2008). Also, according to Rahman et al. (2012), even though there are so many benefits for going green, some hotels use this as a marketing tactic without actually being green. This is so because the benchmarks used to endorse green hotels vary across several accrediting associations. This situation makes it difficult for the consumer to know which hotel is truly practising green or how to compare hotels that claim to be green but are certified by different organisations. Unfortunately, some hotels merely label themselves as green without legitimately obtaining accreditation to join an association that really confirms whether that hotel is really green or not. This poses a challenge to consumers to verify the authenticity of hotels who claim to be green (Pizam, 2009). 3.8 Customers’ Viewpoints of Green Hotels Several studies have mentioned that the growth rate of green consumers has gradually affected the hotel sector globally. Customer’s quest for ecological products and services, have stimulated the growth of a green marketplace and ecologically responsible businesses (Baker, Davis & Weaver, 2014; Lee, Hsu, Han & Kim, 2010; Yusof & Amalina, 2014). As suggested by Bansal and Roth (2000) the green program is thus triggering changes to hotels’ processes, products and services and policies like energy consumption decrease and waste generation, consuming eco-friendly resources and establishing effective environmental management systems. Apart from environmental preservation, some scholars say that there are many other reasons for this green movement phenomenon. Financial advantages such as saving cost, inexpensive opportunities, staff 44 faithfulness, augmented client gratification and maintenance; supervisory acquiescence like apprehensions about authorisations, penalties and undesirable publicity. Hotel’s desire to minimise it's experience to operative risks and augmentation of a hotel’s image are also some of the reasons for going green (Aker, 2008; Graci & Dodds, 2008; Ham & Choi, 2012). Nevertheless, it is augured by some customers that the primary aim of organisations joining the green movement is cost-saving and not necessarily environmental gains. Manaktola and Jauhari (2007), state that the stress on costs centres might be owing to the excessive fixed budgets and little profits on an asset that are characterised by the accommodation industry. A study conducted via O’Hanlon (2005), concludes that if hotels were to institute ecological systems, they are likely to decrease about 20 per cent costs on their electricity consumption without any major speculation. Bohdanowicz (2005) also establishes that 50 to 60 percent of unwanted material can either be reprocessed or salvaged, which can effect in substantial reserves for the hotels. Furthermore, Ham and Han (2013), Leonidou et al. (2013), and Ham and Choi (2012) assert that green practices are perceived to be negligent towards other operational apprehensions. For instance, the business schedule of conserving a huge excellence ecology and justifying the undesirable effects to the environment, have donated to rising disapproval of existing tourism attraction and practices. Thus, hotels are characterised amongst the electricity-intensive sectors, because among all the manufacturing and service industry of their size, they ingest a huge amount of aquatic and energy and generate an extraordinary amount of unwanted materials as well. As Mensah and Mensah (2013) indicated, the hotel business is often associated with deteriorating global environment. Jackson (2010), per figure 3.1 below provides a graphical outline of 45 archetypal hotel aptitude’s collaboration with its environs and the undesirable external impact the interaction generated. 46 Figure 3.1: Schematic overview of a typical hotel’s interaction with the environment, negative externalities generated and technical & behavioural solutions. Source: Jackson (2010) De Grosbois (2012) postulates that, as expressed by many customers, they are doubtful about hotels’ commitment to the promotion of the idea of green and its related strategies and the usefulness of green practices on the well-being of the environment. So, some clients request 47 comprehensive evidence of the likelihood and efficiency of activities that companies embark on to ensure that these companies are actually practicing green. By these practices they also ensure the environment is protected and give customers some sense of satisfaction. 3.9 Green Practices and Customer Satisfaction Satisfying current and past customers is one of the most priorities and dream for most organisations (Pizam & Ellis 1999). Kotler (2011) defines a product as anything that has an objective of satisfying an essential or need which may include actions, places, customers, organisations, data and concepts that are offered to customers or consumers. Customers or consumers’ selection of products and services solely relies on a number attributes that seek to give them dimensions of cost, value and some sense of prior satisfaction before actual purchase. Oliver (1981) further explained that customer satisfaction is the general effective response that is given by customers or consumers after a service experience. Basically, consumer’s fulfilment can be demarcated in twofold; as either a course or result (Swenson & Wells, 1997; Yazdanifard & Mercy, 2011). Its definition as a process encompasses a perceptual evaluation and psychological process which amounts to satisfaction (Perera & Pushpanathan, 2015). While the outcome definition entails the satisfaction that is derived from the consumption experience (Churchill, Gilbert & Suprenant, 1982). Therefore, customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction is formed after a consideration of certain attributes and benefits associated with a particular product which may include the price and efforts borne by the customers to acquire the product or service (Perera & Pushpanathan, 2015; Ostrom & Lacobucci, 1995). Consumer fulfilment measurement in the lodging business is very crucial because managers are able to solicit opinions from guests or consumers. This is because the expectation with regards to hospitality services of every guest differs and therefore it is important 48 to know their opinions not only by aggregate statistics but also individual opinions as well. This will enable management to identify gaps between customer expectation and satisfaction services offered; determine the expectations, supervise the operations of the enterprise as a system and identify the needs and the requests of customers (Dominici & Guzzo, 2010). According to Kotler (2011), inseparability, imperceptibility and inconsistency are the three features of the hospitality sector. Pizam and Ellis (1999) also says that customer’s satisfaction is as a result of hospitality experience that has been derived from the elements or attributes from products and services that shaped the involvement of the individual (Pizam & Ellies, 1999). A study conducted by Chikita (2012) also shows that sixty to sixty-five percent of respondents’ satisfaction level would be affected by the kind of environmentally-friendly practices adopted by the hotel. Robinot and Giannelloni (2010) establish that clients assess the reuse of towels and linens as a fundamental characteristic they expect from lodging industry and the lack of such characteristic is measured as the undesirable outcome on consumer gratification. Equally, this research too depicted that customers regard hotels that use clean and renewable energy sources and this subsequently serves as a plus for these hotels. The upsurge in client fulfilment levels eventually leads to client loyalty which gives a competitive advantage to these hotels. Despite the evolution of green marketing practices literature that exist together with a massive frame of investigation on client fulfilment and devotion, there exists a slit between assessing the relationship among ecological hotel practices and client consummation (Berezan, Raab, Yoo & Love, 2013). Perera and Pushpanathan (2015) postulate that, although many studies have expressed their ideas regarding green marketing, little research has obviously investigated the influence of ecological 49 marketing practices on consumer gratification. Consequently, the researcher has recognised the investigation slit that exists in this theory and seeks to address the gap through this research by investigating the impact of green marketing practices on customer satisfaction 3.10 Conceptual Background and Hypothesis Development The conceptual framework demonstrates the interrelationship between the research objectives in the first chapter and theories in the existing literature in chapter two and at the same time address the hypotheses of the study. 3.10.1 Hypothesis Development The illustration in Figure 3.2, the theoretical structure has three main components, the green marketing practices (GMP), customer satisfaction (CS) and demographic variables (DV). The framework proposes that there exist a relationship between ecological marketing practices (GMP) and client gratification (CS). These components are elaborated below. Grounded on the above theoretical model, the subsequent assumptions have been established: 3.10.1.1 Impact of Green Marketing Practices on Customer Satisfaction Consumers are more aware of the dangers organisations emit on the environment. They, therefore, seek organisations that are environmentally friendly and at the same time meet their needs. Chikita (2012) indicated that the green marketing practices adopted by the hotels affect their satisfaction levels. He further mentions that guest(s) are happy with hotels that purchase and use environmentally friendly products, particularly hotels that take measures to save electricity and water. Previous studies (see Ham & Choi, 2012; Lee & Oh, 2014) revealed that guest(s) are 50 satisfied with green practices they are familiar with and at the same time, can participate in, as these practices, such as linen and towel re-use, are mostly practised at home. This argument supports that of Millar, Mayer and Baloglu (2012), which says that these practices do not only provide similarity but they are also convenient. Again, Ginsberg and Bloom (2004) stated provision of biological meals impacts positively on hotel guests’ emotional benefits thereby increasing their satisfaction level in the hotels. Also, green marketing practices in the hotels could influence a satisfied consumer to stay in the environmentally friendly hotel, since some guests look for actual evidence of green practices before deciding to stay in the hotel (Manaktola & Jauhari, 2007). H1: There is a significant impact of green marketing practices on customer satisfaction. 3.10.1.2 Water Conservation (WACON) A recent study on American hotel guest found that, customers identify environmentally friendly hotels with those having functional attributes such as water conservation (Berezan, Raab, Yoo & Love, 2013). According to Manaktola and Jauhari (2007), water conservation as part of green marketing practices of hotels makes customers to have a positive disposition for the hotel. Another study by Han, Hsu, Lee and Sheu (2011) argue that water consumption of a hotel is very important in enhancing guest satisfaction, which leads to creating of benefits in the form of functional attributes from green products. Similarly, Prud’homme and Raymond (2013) provided evidence that green hotels that ensure they undertake responsible behaviour relating to water consumption are likely to satisfy their guests than conventional hotels. Water conservation as a green marketing practice is conceptualised as the deliberate strategy to reduce the use of water as well as ensuring 51 the treatment and reuse of waste water. The conservation of water by a hotel is an indication of a green marketing practice and thus can contribute to the building of strong customer intention to repurchase a hotel's services (Han & Kim, 2010). Water conservation as part of green marketing practice of hotels is a predictor of the positive overall image of a hotel leading to organisational outcomes such as positive word of mouth, visit intentions, and willingness to pay more (Han et al., 2009). Berezan et al. (2013) found that water conservation is statistically and significantly allied to client fulfilment and retention in the hospitality business. These studies, therefore, have led to the formulation of a hypothesis. H2a: There is a significant relationship between green practices in water conservation and customer satisfaction. 3.10.1.3 Food Quality (FOQ) Healthy food stabilises the biotic body, biological purposes or conserves the well-being of anthropological physiques (Lu & Hsu, 2006). Customers are alarmed about the choice of healthy foods that are available for consumption or would rather not eat it at all. For instance, customers are more concerned about health factors and they, therefore, opt for dietary, nutrients and supplementary foods with the aim of addressing health issues such as weight loss, cholesterol levels, sugar levels etc. (Scot, Nowlis, Mandel & Morales, 2008). Miller (2003) said to most customers that organic food demonstrates a good idea for selfish altruism and major motive for green consumerism. He indicated that the sales proceeds of organic food have been speedily rising because customers now perceive the direct nutritional and health benefits that are associated with the consumption of organic foods. Ahmad and Juhdi (2008) also notes that customers perception on organic foods affects their pro-environmental behaviour and also hint that limited research has 52 been conducted on the effect of healthy foods and consumer environmental behaviour. Food quality is, therefore, defined as a green marketing practice that ensures the consumption of organic food and healthy diets as well as the provision of adequate nutritional information on the food and beverages offered. It is therefore hypothesised that: H2b: There is a significant relationship between green practices in food quality and customer satisfaction. 3.10.1.4 Energy Conservation (ENCON) A study by Han and Kim (2010) present an argument that the ability of a green hotel to advertise their energy conservation practices could gain benefits such as customers deciding to use the services of the hotel again. A study by Bohdanowicz, Churie-Kallhauge and Martinac (2001) revealed that energy conservation in the hotel industry is expected to improve customer comfort and convenience as fewer resources are used. Prud’homme and Raymond (2013) assert that energy conservation is one of the tangible elements of a hotel green marketing issues that improve the satisfaction of customers and also creates future intentions such as repeat usage. Berezan et al. (2013) found that proper energy conservation is considered as a “plus” attribute which increases their satisfaction. Any hotel that adopts energy conservation practices is likely to gain competitive advantage and ultimately build customer loyalty (Berezan et al., 2013). Energy conservation being part of the variables used as a measure of green marketing practices resulted in a statistically significant relationship with customer satisfaction and retention in the hotel industry (Berezan et al., 2013). Energy conservation, as a green marketing practice, is the strategy adopted to reduce the amount of energy consumed and to encourage users to cut down their consumption of energy as well as the provision of renewable energy. The study, therefore, hypothesises that: 53 H2c: There is a significant relationship between green practices in energy conservation and customer satisfaction. 3.10.1.5 Waste Management (WAMA) It has become a known fact that the hotel industry contributes to the destroying and deteriorating ecological resources and guests who appreciate sustainability are looking for hotels that follow practices green marketing to protect the environment (Binder & Varga, 2015; Manaktola & Jauhari, 2007). Hotel guests are happy to learn that their preferred hotel contributes to corporate social responsibility by properly managing their waste disposal in the community in order not to affect the people who live in the community (García-Pozo, Sánchez-Ollero & Marchante-Lara, 2015). It is estimated that a hotel guest produces at least 1 kg of waste per day (Bohdanowicz, 2006). However, Swedish best practice indicates that efficient and responsible waste management such as waste segregation and recycling can reduce the volume of waste a guest makes in the day to 50 g of unsorted waste per guest-night. In a study in Sweden, waste sorting and recycling programmes are normally done in the offices and kitchens but not customary in guestrooms. A study by Molina-Azorin et al. (2009) shows that waste management is crucial in environmental protection practices and it is a determinant of customer satisfaction and firm performance. Waste management as a green marketing practice is conceptualised as the responsibility of taking measure to prevent wastage of resources and to ensure the sustainable disposal of waste. It is therefore hypothesised that: H2d: There is a significant relationship between green practices in waste management and customer satisfaction. 54 3.10.1.6 Air Quality (AIRQ) Air quality management, as a green marketing practice, is the deliberate measure to maintain quality air. Ali, Mustafa, Al-Mashaqbah, Mashal and Mohsen (2008), say that good ventilation in hotels is very crucial because it generates an interior airborne excellence more appropriate for individuals and processes and mentions that when there is no ventilation the guests become uncomfortable and dissatisfied. As a result, air quality in hotels is directly tied to customers’ satisfaction and comfort. Therefore, it is proposed that: H2e: There is a significant relationship between green practices in air quality and customer satisfaction. 3.10.1.7 Noise Pollution (NOPO) Because of the continuous increase in population and urbanisation, the magnitude and severity of noise pollution have also increased and affected guests’ level of satisfaction in hotels located by noisy areas (Becker, 2009; Novak, La Lopa & Novak, 2010). A noisy hotel affects guests’ sleep, concentration, communication as well as destroying the good leisure times of people and denying them enjoyment and satisfaction (Clemes, Gan & Ren, 2011). However, according to Hanks, Cross and Noland (2002), hotels that are able to control their noise level attract customers. The hotels produce noise that is termed as necessary (desirable) or unnecessary (undesirable). Sounds that are produced from the various homes such as; dish cleaners, garbage containers, wash machines and dryers, fridges, air-conditioners, furnaces, television, radio and other related technologies are regarded as necessary noise whereas noise that are heard on the streets such as; trolley cars, buses, car horns, motorcycles, car alarms, barking dogs, noise of low flying aircraft and leaf blowers are considered as undesirable or unnecessary noise (Kirk, 1995), which if not managed well can affect 55 the satisfaction level of the guests. Noise pollution management is, therefore, conceptualised as the strategic prevention of excessive and unacceptable noise levels. It is, thus, proposed that: H2f: There is a significant relationship between green practices in noise pollution and customer satisfaction. 3.10.1.8 Demographic Variables Literature has reflected on the significant role of demographic features to understand consumer behaviours well in many aspects. Several studies have confirmed that demographic variables like gender, age, education and income plays a major role in determining the consumer behaviour patterns (Evanschitzky & Wunderlich, 2006; Gilly & Zeithaml, 1985; Henion, 1972; Im, Pesaran, & Shin, 2003; Laroche, Bergeron & Barbaro-Forleo, 2001; Roberts, 1996). The social theory also takes it from the viewpoint that, women and men show different behaviours in society and this can be attributed to the fact that they socialised differently. The initial socialisation of females tends to be slow and controlled while males are more likely to show pro-activeness or self-reliance (Saad & Gill, 2000; Sarbin & Allen, 1968). • Gender Gender differences have been critically examined in the consumer behaviour literature and it was found that the consumption patterns and behaviours of males and females defer. Han, Hsu and Lee (2009) also say that, most studies that have been conducted in the area of gender behaviour in social behaviour used the social theory and evolutionary psychology which assume that individuals tend to be passive holders of the roles they have while social role theory also shows that males and females are entertained in different ways and perform diverse roles in our society (Archer, 1996; 56 Buss, 1996). For instance, according to Eagly (1987), females tend to be more concerned about the welfare of others and they also observe the significance of interpersonal relationships (Konrad, Ritchie, Lieb, Corrigall, 2000). Also, females have a better preference when it comes to information and communication (Lehto, O'leary & Lee, 2002). Also, Banerjee and McKeage (1994), and Macintyre, Maciver and Sooman (1993) claim that, women are more conscious when it comes to environmental issues and consumption intentions. Again, Archer (1996), Buss (1996), and Saad and Gill (2000) also think that, sex differences in human behaviour can be attributed to evolutionary psychology which shows that gender plays an active role in sustaining people’s social behavioural patterns given the fitness interest of males and females. These theories are assumed to be the fundamental concept used by researchers to elucidate gender dissimilarities in patterns, dispositions and behaviours in several contexts (Archer, 1996; Buss, 1996; Saad & Gill, 2000). The effect of gender on purchasing behaviour is commonly recognised in marketing and consumer behaviour studies. The gender differences in consumption have been critically examined by many researchers (Banerjee & McKeage, 1994; Homburg & Giering, 2001; Laroche et al, 2001; McIntyre, Meloche & Lewis, 1993; Mittal & Kamakura, 2001). Some researchers proposed that comparing males and females, females highly involve themselves in purchasing activities and they are more likely to listen to details and have good personal interactions and interpersonal relationships (Gilbert & Warren, 1995; Konrad et al., 2000). Homburg and Giering (2001) in their quest to study the formation of customer loyalty in the automobile industry realised that there exists a relationship between sales process and repurchase intentions which are greatly influenced 57 by gender. The studies further indicated a strong link for females than males. This conforms to an assertion which was made by Konrad et al. (2000) that, males and females differ when it comes to attitude. In the investigation to ascertain whether customers have the intentions to patronise environmentally friendly products, Laroche et al. (2001) empirically demonstrated that women were more environmentally conscious than men and had the tendency of paying more for green products. This is also in line with what Banerjee and McKeage (1994); McIntyre et al. (1993) found in their environmental consumption studies that, women are inclined to be more ecologically conscious and make more purchases of eco-friendly products than men do. Relating this to the social role theory, this is a true manifestation that females are more responsible and obedient while males tend to exhibit their self-reliant and aggressive nature (Saad & Gill, 2000). In a typical hotel setting, Han, Hsu and Lee (2009) concluded that gender plays a very substantial moderating role in customer’s eco-friendly decision-making processes. H3a: Gender significantly moderates the relationship between green practices and customer satisfaction • Age Age has received a lot of attention considering it has a personal characteristic or variable when it comes to research. Many studies that have been conducted in the area of age difference in consumer behaviour have revealed that age is a major factor when it comes to purchasing intentions (Evanschitzky & Wunderlich, 2006; Homburg & Giering, 2001; Im et al., 2003). Again, Han, Hsu & Lee (2009), mentions that age is essential in determining buying behaviours and patterns which have attracted the attention of researchers. For instance, Goldsmith, Flynn and Goldsmith (2003), and Im et al (2003) suggested that, younger people have the tendency of being 58 innovative with regards to selecting new products or services and interacting with new providers more often while older people would like to be more unadventurous with regards to new products and interacting with new providers. Also an information processing related theory suggests that, younger people always search for novel ideas or information as alternative solutions while older people tend to depend on the available and existing information, this is simply because the capacity to search for information and process it depreciate with age (Evanschitzky & Wunderlich, 2006; Gilly & Zeithaml, 1985). There are many studies that are backing the major moderating role of age in consumer behaviour and marketing literature theorised and verified that are associated with information processing and innovativeness (Evanschitzky & Wunderlich, 2006; Gilly & Zeithaml, 1985; Goldsmith et al., 2003; Im et al., 2003; Ratchford, 1999). In a nutshell, the findings from the above literature suggest that the customer decision-making process is greatly influenced by age. The ecological purchasing process being characterised by the significance of age has been discussed in the earlier literature (Roberts, 1996; Vining & Ebreo, 1990). Also, the findings of some earlier studies indicated that age plays a significant role when it comes to eco-friendly purchasing behaviours and intention formation (Anderson & Cunningham, 1972; Van Liere & Dunlap, 1981). However, these findings in ecological consumer behaviour studies with regards to age are inconsistent. According to Vining and Ebreo (1990), customers who participate in eco- friendly purchasing behaviours are generally older than average. Also, further studies by Roberts (1996) who did a profile on the development of environmentally conscious customers postulated that there is a likelihood of the older and younger age groups to make environmentally friendly decision with regards to purchases. His studies suggested that 59 customers who are older are more inclined to be more perceptive to ecological issues and therefore have a greater propensity to make an environmentally friendly purchase as compared to younger customers. However, according to (Evanschitzky & Wunderlich, 2006; Gilly & Zeithaml, 1985), young people have the capabilities of searching and processing information which make them susceptible to the search of new and alternative information. The findings then depict that, young people are motivated to make green lodging decisions because they tend to be more informed about green hotels and the benefits associated with staying in a green hotel. Explicitly, the findings showed that environmentally conscious customers who make green purchasing are more likely to be younger. Assuming the pragmatic indication in these studies of environmentally friendly consumption, we assume age to have a significant role in the formation of intentions and the purchasing buying behaviour of eco-friendly hotels. Specifically, we expect to find what the outcome of relationships between customer satisfaction and green practices would be for the different age groups. H3b: Age significantly moderates the relationship between green practices and customer satisfaction • Education Education and income play a very significant role when it comes to the customer decision-making process and behaviours as illustrated in the extant literature. Keaveney and Parthasarathy (2001) mentions that, customers who attain high level of education and income have the tendency of being more competent in exhibiting the habit of urbane and reliable estimations on their expectations with regards to products and services which make their purchasing intentions and behaviours different from those who are less educated and low-income earners. 60 Again, many studies shown in the area of consumer behaviour have demonstrated that education and income play a major role in the quest to explain customer post-purchase behaviour (Evanschitzky & Wunderlich, 2006; Im et al., 2003). Also, the profile development of environmentally-friendly customers indicates that people who are highly educated with higher incomes are more environmentally conscious and they are actively involved in the formation of eco-friendly intentions and buying green products or services (Henion, 1972; Roberts, 1996). In a nutshell, previous studies that are associated with demographic characteristics indicate that there exists a dissimilarity in the customer buying behaviours as a function of the demographic features which are; gender, age, education, income and nationality. Also, evidence from existing literature suggests that customers who are environmentally friendly have the tendency of being females, younger, more educated and high-income earners than the average. H3c: Education significantly moderates the relationship between green practices and customer satisfaction • Nationality Berezan, Raab, Yoo and Love (2013) suggests that a full comprehension of customers’ needs and wants is fundamental when companies are making decisions concerning green practices. An investigation that was conducted by Deloitte Consumer Survey (2008) showed that there is gaps or inconsistency in what guests or travellers expect from hotels and the various green practices these hotels assume. The global society’s move in the direction of the green economy has augmented expressively through an increased acknowledgement of issues that have positive impacts on the environment (Lipman & Vorster, 2011). Nonetheless, the implication that has been placed on these matters seem to be inconsistent across countries. For instance, the World Economic 61 Forum (2011) explained that the rate of environmental stringency and enforcement of Mexico when it comes to environmental issues is lower compared to that of the United States of America. This indicates that a Mexican hotel manager’s assertiveness and behaviours towards the execution of green practices will not be effective because guest preferences for sustainable or green practices in the hotel will be disregarded (Revilla, Dodd & Hoover, 2001). Therefore, it can be inferred that generally Mexican hotels will be less privy to green hotel practices than the hotels in the United States. Again, a study by Berezan, Raab and Millar (2014) discovered that American hotel guests are characterised by ecologically friendly practices like conserving water and energy while Mexican hotel guests require some emotional characteristics like natural, peaceful and comfortable. These variations may generate inconsistency in the green practices and service delivery with regards to customer satisfaction since all guests do not bear the same nationality or come from the same region. Kim and Han (2010) also find that guests are willing to forgo minor inconveniences in the quest to support green practices. Also, a study conducted by Kasim (2004) establish that even though people are ecologically conscious, they seem to pay less attention to eco-friendly practices by hotels when making a hotel purchase decision. Kasim (2004) further mentions that majority of tourists usually prefer some non-green attributes compared to eco-friendly practices. However, different studies have concluded that guests anticipate some certain ecological attributes as part of the services that should be offered to them (Deloitte Consumer Survey, 2008; Robinot & Giannelloni, 2010). Robinot and Giannelloni (2010) then concludes that, it is ideal for hotels to properly instigate some basic attributes of green practices to elude customer satisfaction. These positive attributes are basically unexpected but they are absolute professed factors that can yield 62 customer satisfaction. Other studies also depict that, hotel guests are doubtful of “ecolabels” or products or services that are projected or promoted as being eco-friendly (Furlow & Knott, 2009). Miller and Balogu (2011) also suggests when a hotel creates baseline concepts of the offer a green hotel has to give, guests are less cynical and more appreciative of green practices. Furthermore, a recent study depicts that, a trustworthy information with regards to who needs to be responsible for green practices will massively support the movement of hotels going green (Tierney, Hunt & Latkova, 2011). Again, the findings from the study of Berezan, Raab, Yoo and Love (2013) evidently shows that people with different nationalities have different perceptions with regards to sustainable practices, which may subsequently have a great impact on their satisfaction levels as well. This shows that there is a good relative significance of green practices that have been perceived across different nations. For instance, certain practices such as a light bulb, occur sensor, key card, water public, dispenser, and towel policy have been perceived differently by different kinds of people with different nationalities. Berezan, Raab, Yoo and Love (2013) finally concludes that, 83% of English holidaymakers would go for a hotel with a green award, and further stressing that generally, there is a likelihood of the American public paying 6% more for travel products and services of green value (Lee, Hsu, Han & Kim, 2010). H3d: Nationality significantly moderates the relationship between green practices and customer satisfaction. 63 Table 3.1: Summary of Hypotheses H1 There is a significant impact of green marketing practices on customer satisfaction. H2a There is a significant relationship between green practices in water conservation and customer satisfaction. H2b There is a significant relationship between green practices in food quality and customer satisfaction. H2c There is a significant relationship between green practices in energy conservation and customer satisfaction. H2d There is a significant relationship between green practices in waste management and customer satisfaction. H2e There is a significant relationship between green practices in air quality and customer satisfaction. H2f There is a significant relationship between green practices in noise pollution and customer satisfaction H3a Gender significantly moderates the relationship between green practices and customer satisfaction H3b Age significantly moderates the relationship between green practices and customer satisfaction H3c Education significantly moderates the relationship between green practices and customer satisfaction H3d Nationality significantly moderates the relationship between green practices and customer satisfaction. Source: Field Data, 2017 3.10.2 Conceptual Framework Miles and Huberman (1994) indicated that a theoretical outline is basically a road map of the area that a researcher intends to study or investigate. This road map can be explained using graphics or narrations. The identification of the most appropriate theories from various works is often referred to conceptualisation or conceptual framework (Miles & Huberman, 1994; Jabareen, 2009). The ecological marketing practices and customer satisfaction concept is fairly a new concept in developing countries which factored the formation of the rationale behind this study. That’s, to assess the impact of green marketing practices on customer satisfaction. According to Dief and Font (2010), green strategy researchers recommended some frameworks to expound reason why firms approve practical green tactics. Examples of these frameworks are 64 stakeholder pressures, strategic proactivity, institutional dynamics, managerial ethics and organisational context. They emphasised that although these frameworks have delivered portion to the mystery of green marketing, however, there is no leading model or outline for green marketing practices and this inconsistency on the framework or theory requires multiple theories and frameworks to be drawn from several kinds of literature for the purpose of research in this area. Therefore, after a critical review of extant literature, the following conceptual or theoretical model was constructed. This model of green marketing practices integrates several constructs and argues that the customer satisfaction is an output of green practices in water conservation, energy conservation, waste management, air quality, noise pollution and food quality. The framework also argues that demographic influences such as gender, age, nationality and education moderate the relationship between green marketing practices and customer satisfaction. Figure 3.2: Conceptual Framework Green Marketing Practices • Water Conservation • Food Quality • Energy Conservation H1, H2 Customer Satisfaction • Waste Management • Air Quality • Noise Pollution H3 • Demographic Variables • Age • Gender • Nationality • Education Source: Author’s Own Conceptualisation (2017) 65 3.11 Chapter Summary This chapter of the study gives an account of extant literature in the area of green marketing and customer satisfaction. An extensive review of the literature was done. Based on the literature reviewed, a conceptual framework was developed to graphically illustrate the model of the research. Finally, this chapter presented the hypotheses that need to be tested in the subsequent chapters. 66 CHAPTER FOUR RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY 4.0 Introduction To effectively carry out this research and achieve the objectives and hypotheses, it is very crucial to examine the research approach or methodology the researcher will use to achieve the research objectives and answer the research questions. Leedy and Ormrod (2001) defined research methodology as the general approach that researchers use to conduct their research. It can also be seen as the procedural framework that is used to guide a research (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2009; Remenyi, William, Money & Swartz, 1998). This chapter outlines the various steps employed in carrying out the research so as to ensure that the research gap identified in other works are reviewed. The first section begins with the introduction of the research paradigm which will have a general implication on the study methods. The part of the study then chronicles the justification for the research design, research instrument and structure, the populace and sample size, ethical considerations, data collection method and data analysis process. 4.1 Philosophical World Views For a study like this, it is vital to deliberate on the appropriate logical procedures supporting the research. Thus, hypothetical support and examination methods must all be linked to each other and the goals of the research. Therefore, the idea of paradigm is significant to the investigation procedure in all aspects of the study. 67 4.2 Research Paradigm A paradigm is “a set of beliefs, values and techniques which is shared by members of a scientific community, and which acts as a guide or map, dictating the kinds of problems scientists should address and the types of explanations that are acceptable to them” (Kuhn, 2012). These beliefs, values and techniques can be displayed on a continuum with objectivism toward one side and subjectivism at the other (Johnson & Duberley, 2000). As a result, there exist various classifications to distinguish paradigms (Myers & Avison, 2002). The most frequently alluded to paradigms that mirror the major hypothetical philosophical feeling in social science research are positivism, interpretivism, realism, relativism and critical realism (Chan, 2015; Kim, 2003; Orlikowski & Baroudi, 1991). These research paradigms provide the opinion whereupon the researcher constructs the methodology that is utilised in the study (Creswell, 2014). According to Creswell (2014), each of the paradigms has its own arrangement of epistemological, ontological and methodological suppositions that serve as a structure to clarify and separate them from each other (see Table 4.1). It is, therefore, necessary to explain the philosophical positioning underlying this study. A positivist paradigm has been chosen because respondents react to specific conditions without concentrating on their feelings, but rather gather opinions and understandings of detailed and specific green marketing practices. The application of this paradigm ensures that the findings that come out are specific and precise data with the result being expressed quantitatively. Numerical statistics might be examined and untaken using stalls, graphs and charts to elicit information on 68 customers understanding of green marketing and how green marketing practices impacts on customer satisfaction in the hotels. According to Dash (2005), the positivist methodology of investigating social reality is based on the philosophical thoughts of the French philosopher, August Comte, focused on observation and reason as methods for understanding human behaviour. Many social science studies today draw their methods of insight from positivism or the disagreement to positivism (Johnson & Duberley, 2000). As a result, most philosophers believe that the positivist approach is the basis and rationale for management research these days (Johnson & Duberley, 2000). There are principles and assumptions of science within which the positivist framework must be understood. As Cohen, Manion & Morrison (2011) noted, these are determinism, empiricism, parsimony, and generality. Dash (2005), says, ‘determinism’ suggests that events are caused by various circumstances; and therefore, seeing such links are principal for desire and control. ‘Empiricism’ infers gathering of verifiable empirical evidence in the backing of hypotheses or speculations. ‘Parsimony’ implies the explanation of the phenomenon in the most moderate way comprehensible, and ‘generality’ is the method of summing up the view of the particular phenomenon to the world at large. Table 4.1 shows a summary of all the research paradigm. 69 Table 4.1: Research Paradigm ONTOLOGY EPISTEMOLOGY? METHODOLOGY POSITIVISM Reality is solitary, objective and Knowledge created is objective, free of Researchers formulate research questions tangible time impacts, and is context-free. and hypotheses and then test them empirically under carefully controlled circumstances. Logical reasoning INTERPRETIVISM Numerous authenticities occur, and Information produced are idiosyncratic, Information is found through these are in accordance with mortal has a time frame and situation dependent. investigators and the recognition of practises and understanding. diverse explanations. Different truth exist REALISM The reality is “real” yet just Findings are sometime true and Common situations are understood incompletely and probabilistically researchers need to find any perceptions through assumptions that have been understandable, numerous sources collected. tested to build into patterns of unions and are required to attempt to know it. hence, a possible explanation is given. RELATIVISM Multiple realities exist. Reality as The interpretation of the world requires Knowledge building is determined by the truth is not "absolute", it is relative, some form of human processing worldview and research pattern of an it is dependent upon 'something' and investigator. Investigators must emphasis it does exist. more on creating and developing new 'useful' theories CRITICAL REALISM Two worlds - transitive and The transitive world is value-laden and Researchers seek to deconstruct and intransitive. Transitive is what we changing continually. The intransitive understand that structures and observe and learn with our mind - the world has underlying structures and mechanisms underlying the subjective perceptions of reality. Intransitive mechanisms that are 'relatively enduring' realities that exist. Triangulation from embodies the reality which is - that is what we want to study. many sources is required to try to know autonomous to ones thinking. it. Reproductive reasoning. Source: Boateng (2016) According to Creswell (2014), the philosophical strategies and approach adopted to contribute to a research method that tends to be either quantitative, qualitative or mixed method. This study 70 however employed a quantitative research method, which basically supports the positivist claims for developing knowledge (i.e., cause and effect relationship, questions and hypothesis testing, use of theories) through a research design such as experiments and surveys, data collection and analysis (Cooper & Schindler, 2011; Creswell, 2014). 4.3 Research Design or Approach The research design is the blueprint for satisfying goals and giving the knowledge to answer the research purpose (Cooper & Schindler, 2011). According to Saunders, Lewis, and Thornhill (2012), the purpose is most often exploratory, explanatory or descriptive. As this study is to examine the relationship between green marketing practices and customer satisfaction, it is, therefore, an explanatory study, which attempts to explain the reasons for the phenomenon (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2016). Hence, the researcher used the hypotheses to account for the relationships (Cooper & Schindler, 2014). Yin (2003) states that there are five different strategies in collecting and analysing data to serve as empirical evidence, namely, experiment, surveys, archival analysis, history and case studies, and each can be used for exploratory, descriptive and explanatory research. Since this study was based on the verification of hypotheses through data collected from a large sample size to enable generalisation, the survey approach was deemed appropriate (Saunders et al., 2009). According to Collis and Hussey (2013), a survey refers to a methodology where participants are drawn from a population and studied to make inferences about the population. Thus, a survey is a method for acquiring information about the features, actions, or ideas of a substantial gathering of individuals, alluded to as a populace (Malhotra & Birks, 2007). Again, choosing a research strategy has become 71 critical since it serves as the bases for the specific affiliation amongst observed and unobserved variables (Saunders, Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2011). A cross-sectional survey design involved the collection of data at a certain point in time from a sample selected to represent the population within a sample frame time. On the other hand, the longitudinal survey represents the collection of data from a sample a number of times over a long period. So, for this study, the cross-sectional survey design was adopted. 4.4 Types of Data Generally, there are two main sources of data (primary data and secondary) but several modes of collecting data (Ghauri & Gronhaug, 2005). The primary source of data as suggested by Maholtra (2008) is the data that has been gathered or collected mainly for the purpose of the current research work. Secondary data is the data that is readily available and was gathered for the purpose of other research work but might have some significance and usefulness to the current study (Hair, Black, Babin, Anderson & Tatham, 2006; Malhotra, 2008). While secondary data is often characterised by less hassle, low cost and other advantages, the primary source of data were used for this research because the content of the secondary data might correlate insignificantly with the research objectives (Hair, Sarstedt, Hopkins & Kuppelwieser, 2014). So eventually, the research adopted the primary data because there was no readily available secondary data on green marketing practices which can help depict the level of satisfaction among the customer in the selected hotels in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. 72 4.5 Target Population According to Malhotra (2008), the target population of a research is the assortment of fundamentals or substances that have information that the researcher is seeking to achieve with regards to the research objectives. This forms the complete collection of publics the investigator needs to gather data from (McDaniel & Gates, 2005). With this, some selected hotels in Greater Accra Region of Ghana were targeted for the study. As at December 2015, the total number of star rated hotels according to Ghana Tourism Authority was 648. However, this study focused on 3 to 5-star hotels in Accra Ghana. The population for this study was from 3 to 5-star hotels in the greater Accra region of Ghana. Thus, the total number of hotels for this study was 20, comprising three-5 star, seven-4 star and ten-3 star. According to Keaveney (1995), the time frame (6 months) is recent enough for a study in the hotels where customers are involved. He further mentions that, during this period, customers’ will reliably recall their service experiences in the hotels. Therefore, the study sought to question 360 guests who have experienced the services of the hotel within the last one month which are within Keaveney (1995) suggested frame time. Willing guests from the hotels who meet the criteria were questioned. Kinnear, Kresge and Taylor (1996) assert that several benchmarks are used in selecting a model size. This criterion can be determined by factors, such as timeframe, cost, research objectives and convenience. After deliberations of all of these factors, this study targeted 360 customers. 4.6 Sample Frame of Study Denscombe (1998) suggested that social researchers are usually limited with regards to data collection from people who fall into the category of the target population. Consequently, to save effort, time and money in research, a more intently definition of the target population are 73 recommended when considering the sampling frame (Wallen, 2006). And so, the sampling frame for the study was 3 to 5-star hotels in the Greater Accra region, who are registered with the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) and licensed by the same body. This choice was informed by the fact that GTA is the main institutional body that regulates the activities of the hotel sector in Ghana. Moreover, the sample frame was limited to the Greater Accra region because all the 5-star hotel and majority of the 4 and 3-star hotels are in the capital city of Ghana which is Accra. 4.7 Sampling Size of Study Hair, Anderson, Babin and Black (2010) asserts that, for a sample to be illustrative and practicable, it should rather be more than 100. According to the data that was gathered from the Ghana Tourism Authority, the total number of star rated hotels are 648. 20 hotels comprising 3 to5 stars in Accra were pooled from the sampling frame as mentioned above. Afterwards, a total of 360 questionnaires were sent out to the hotel's guests of these selected 3- 5-star hotels in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. 4.8 Research Sampling Technique In discussing the sample frame and size, the sampling technique adopted for this research is discussed next. Normally, sampling techniques can be categorised into two; Probability and Non- probability sampling (Guy, Edgley, Arafat, & Allen, 1987). Stuart (1984), defined probability sampling as the sampling technique where “every element in the population has a non-zero chance of being selected”. That is, all single element of the populace have an equivalent chance of being used in the said research. Saunders et al. (2011) also showed that probability sampling generally contains four recognised methods that are regular in all research which is, random sampling, 74 systematic sampling, stratified random sampling and cluster sampling. Non-probability sampling, on the other hand, does not depend on chance-based selection but relies on the investigators’ own verdict (Malhotra & Birks, 2007). Subsequently, all components of the population have the same chance of being selected. Saunders et al. (2011) and Barnett (1991) also indicates that non- probability sampling uses approaches such as purposive or judgmental sampling, quota sampling, convenience sampling and snowball sampling. 4.9 Justification of Sampling Technique for the Study Respondents for the research were chosen using the non-probability sampling method. This sampling technique does not rely on chance but rather relies on the investigator’s personal judgment (Malhotra & Birks, 2007). Also in the non-probability sampling, the research adopted the purposive sampling method (Creswell, 2014). This method stood out because it had an advantage of ensuring that the required relevant data comes from guests who have experienced services from the hotels. Likewise, in the quest of filling the research gap which is to investigate the satisfaction level of customers patronising the services of some selected hotels in Ghana, the purposive sampling was seen as a suitable technique. 4.10 Data Collection Instrument According to Malhotra and Briks (2007), primary data can be collected using four basic instruments which are; member opinion, individual meetings, phone meetings and self- administered questionnaires. A self- administered questionnaire was used for this study because it was seen as appropriate as compared to other instruments since the questionnaires are usually less expensive and very easy to administer because respondents are limited to stated alternatives. Also, questionnaires are easy to administer especially if the data is to be gathered within a large 75 geographical area (Malholtra, 2008). Furthermore, questionnaires are standardised in nature which aids in comparison of different responses from respondents and at the same time giving some intellect of obscurity for respondents or members (Hair et al., 2006; Saunders et al., 2011). 4.11 Questionnaire Designing Questions asked by the questionnaire determine the quality of the data and this basically makes questionnaire design more critical (Hulley, Cumming, Brower, Grady & Newamn). Therefore, the study employed a structured questionnaire consisting of closed-ended questions designed for the purpose of primary data collection. Prior to the construct of the questionnaires, the hotels under investigation were visited to find out the kind of green practices that existed in those hotels. This was done to help the researcher construct a questionnaire that is adequate for the specific context and population of interest. The concepts were then developed by creating a measure that conforms to the meaning of each theoretical constructs (Le Roy, 2009). Having created the constructs in the conceptual framework using multiple indicators, the next stage was how to portion each of the pointers. A questionnaire was later designed from literature to empirically test the theoretical structure and get answers for the study questions and objectives taking into consideration the outcome of the hotels visited. The adapted scales (see Table 4.2) were used to measure all six constructs of green marketing practices in hotels (water conservation, food quality, energy conservation, waste management, air quality and noise pollution). In all, a 29-item scale was used in measuring the green practices and customer satisfaction in the hotels. Water conservation had 5 items; a 4-item scale for food quality; a 6-item scale was used in measuring energy conservation; waste management measured with 5-item scales; a 3-item scale 76 was used for an air quality and a 3-item scale for noise pollution. Customer satisfaction also had a 3-item scale measurement. Additionally, a 5-point Likert scale was used to answer the questions for all scale items, fluctuating from Strongly Disagree (1) to Strongly Agree (5); the adoption of this scale was proposed by Zikmund et al. (2012), who says the 5-piont Likert scale is straight ward, understandable as well as simple for participants to comprehend. Below is the list of scales adopted in literature and presented in table 4.2. Table 4.2: Measurement Sources of Green Marketing Practices Item Green Marketing Practices Measurement Sources 1 Water conservation Verma & Chandra (2016); Chikita (2012); Erdogan & Baris (2007) 2 Food quality Lee, Hsu, Han & Kim (2010); Chan (2013); Yusof & Amalina (2014); Verma & Chandra (2016); Suki (2013) 3 Energy conservation Verma & Chandra (2016); Chikita (2012); Erdogan & Baris (2007) 4 Waste management Verma & Chandra (2016); Chikita (2012). 5 Air quality Punitha, Aziz & Rahman (2016); Kang, Stein, Heo & Lee (2012); González & León (2001); Kumar (2005) 6 Noise pollution Verma & Chandra (2016); Chikita (2012). González & León (2001); Mihalič (2000); Punitha, Aziz & Rahman (2016); 7 Customer Satisfaction Lee, Hsu, Han & Kim (2010); Wu & Liang (2009); Martínez (2015); Robinot & Giannelloni (2010). Source: Researcher, 2017. 4.12 Pilot Test of Questionnaire To determine the appropriateness of the designed questionnaire, there was the need to pre-test the questionnaire before starting with the data collection. Conforming to an assertion which was made 77 by Hair et al. (2006), proposing all final adaption of the construct questionnaire must be pretested and guaranteed the clearness of the queries and instructions and that validity of the research must be satisfactory. In this regard, some faculty members in the Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship as well as hotel customers, and some hotel industry professionals were asked to review the questionnaires to ensure the face validity of the questionnaire (Nunnally & Bernstein, 1994; Zikmund et al., 2012). Some few modifications were made and a pilot test was conducted with 62 hotel customers which indicated that the instrument had an adequate level of reliability and validity. 4.13 Primary Data Collection Process After administering the questionnaires for the pre-test or pilot study, the important phase of the research was to administer the main questionnaire. The structured questionnaires were distributed purposively to the guests in the 3, 4 and 5-star hotels. As discussed earlier, the choice was made due to the standards that were proposed by the researcher because it represents the total population of interest and also saves time (Dillion, Madden & Firtle, 1993). The researcher administered the questionnaires by engaging the guests in the hotel's restaurants, car park and lobby. For the purpose of this research, the respondents were given some information pertaining to the purpose of the research while they were also assured of the confidentiality of the information they provided. This was in line with the assertion by Sallant and Dillman (1994) who proposed the idea of the relevance of maintaining the confidentiality of respondents because it inspires participation without any unwarranted pressure. In that regard, respondents who were willing to fully participate in the filling of the questionnaires were approached and questionnaires administered to them over a period of 90 days. 78 Out of three hundred and sixty (360) questionnaires that were sent out to respondents, the researcher was able to retrieve three hundred and fifteen (315) representing a response rate of 87%. The process of data screening revealed that twenty-eight (28) questionnaires were unusable due to large sections of incomplete data. Therefore, out of the three hundred and fifteen (315) questionnaires available for data analysis, two hundred and twenty-seven (227) responses were usable with regards to the missing data. 4.14 The Reliability and Validity of the Scale Assessing the reliability and validity of the questionnaire scales is important for obtaining the most accurate results. Reliability and validity are methods of evaluating the soundness measurement to ensure they are free of bias and distortion (Golafshani, 2003; Roberts, Priest & Traynor, 2006; Ruekert & Churchill, 1984). According to Hair, Babin, Money and Samouel (2003), questionnaires are considered reliable and valid when the results that were given are similar when repeated. Thus, the study would yield the same results if repeated for the second time. 4.14.1 Reliability Reliability is an indication of the accuracy, precision, and consistency of the measurement (Saunders et al., 2009). In simple terms, reliability is an indicator of a measurement of internal consistency, how well the items on the test measure the same construct or idea (Zikmund, Babin, Carr & Griffin, 2012). Internal reliability of the measurement scale items is usually tested using the Cronbach alpha coefficient (Hair et al., 2006; Pallant, 2007). Although Cronbach alpha is a widely used method of testing reliability, Peterson & Kim (2013) noted that Cronbach alpha is of 79 lower bound therefore underestimates the true reliability. Based on that argument, the study adopted both the Cronbach alpha and the composite reliability method, which is mostly used in structural equation modelling (Zikmund et al., 2012). Composite reliability assesses the overall reliability of a collection of heterogeneous but similar items (Hair, Sarstedt, Hopkins & Kuppelwieser, 2014). However, assessing reliability is not a sure way of examining validity. 4.14.2 Validity According to Zikmund et al. (2012), validity is termed as the accuracy of a measurement or the extent to which a score honestly represents a concept. Validity, therefore, refers to the pertinence of the measurements to evaluate the variable it claims to measure (Burns & Burns, 2008). In this study, construct validity is applied to detect how well the results obtained using the measuring instrument and fits theoretical expectations (Hair et al., 2014). Construct validity includes two (2) sub-types: convergent validity and discriminant validity. Discriminant validity was used in identifying the level at which a construct is different from the other (Rezaei, 2015; Rezaei & Ghodsi, 2014); while the convergent validity was used to ensure that the constructs identified are truly reflected by their indicators (Rezaei & Ghodsi, 2014; Rezaei, 2015). Discriminant validity is applied using construct correlations and cross-loading criterion while convergent validity is applied using Average Variance Extracted (AVE) and factor loadings (Hwang, Malhotra, Kim, Tomiuk & Hong, 2010; Rezaei, 2015). 4.15 Analytical Strategy This section discusses the use of statistical techniques in this study starting with descriptive statistics in the first section, following by the statistical analysis section. The statistical analysis 80 section is divided into three sections which are; factor analysis, confirmatory analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling (SEM). This particular research employed the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for the descriptive analysis while testing the proposed relationship that exists among the study variables was conducted using structural equation modelling with the help of AMOS 20 software or programme. Similarly, in order to test for the hypothesised paths using the SEM, a construct validity was measured by running a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) as suggested by (Anderson & Gerbing, 1988). 4.16 Descriptive Statistics According to Mazzocchi (2008), descriptive statistics can be categorised into two groups. The first group entails the central tendency of the variable which may be characterised by mean, median, or mode while the second group denotes dispersion which can be predicted using the range, variation (for standard deviation) and the coefficient of variation (Mazzocchi, 2008). Pallant (2011) also suggested that it is very important to subject the data to descriptive analysis before any further validation and analysis as this is key prior to the conduction of most of the statistical analyses for most studies. The descriptive statistics explains how the participants approve or disapprove of the reports in the survey and further shows how each statement performed from the viewpoint of the respondents. 4.17 Statistical Analysis Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling were the statistical analyses the study employed for the purpose of this study. 81 4.18.1 Confirmatory Factor Analysis Hair et al. (2006) postulate that the purpose of the factor analysis can be attained from either the confirmatory or an exploratory perspective. Exploratory factor analysis is seemly when it searching for structure amid a set of variables or as a form of data reduction technique. Hair et al. (2006) employ a six-stage decision process when conferring the application of SEM: “1. Defining individual constructs, 2. Developing the overall measurement model, 3. Designing a study to produce empirical results, 4. Assessing the measurement model validity, 5. Specifying the structural model, and 6. Assessing structural model validity.” Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), on the other hand, is frequently employed to shield the first four stages in the Hair et al (2006) six-stage model. Hair et al (2006) further explained that CFA is a means of testing how well a variable was measured and how it signifies a smaller number of constructs. It is, therefore, the responsibility of the researcher to specify both the number of the factors that exist among a set of variables and the factors which its variables will load high before the results can be calculated. Hair et al (2006) further indicated that the CFA statistic can demonstrate how good the specification of the factors matches reality, thus the actual data. Furthermore, it is a tool that assists researchers to either reject or confirm a predetermined theory. The CFA also seeks to measure theories that have been employed to specify how sets of measured items represent a set of constructs. It is also responsible for the estimation of those relationships that link constructs to variables and constructs to each other (Hair et al., 2006). CFA can also be used to demonstrate concepts like factor loadings, covariance, and correlation and it also gives the basis for comparing and contrasting with EFA. The measurement theory for the CFA tests is based 82 on the covariance between all items that have been measured and it also forms the foundation which all further theory testing can be made. 4.18.2 Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) Structural equation modelling (SEM) is an analytical technique which is very powerful but also complex in nature (Shook, Ketchen, Hult & Kacmar, 2004). It a technique for measuring the relationship that exists between unobserved variables which evolved in the early 20th century (Hair et al., 2006). SEM has an advantage of examining the structure of interrelationships conveyed in series of equations which is comparable to a series of multiple regression equations and making it statistical models that have an objective of elucidating how multiple variables are related (Hair et al., 2006). Its distinct nature makes it possible to combine interdependence and dependence methods and at the same time, it is suitable in situations where a dependent variable becomes an independent variable in the event of dependence relationship. This eventually gives rise to the interdependence structural model (Hair et al., 2006). The uniqueness of SEM being a statistical technique in multivariate data analysis is characterised by the following three features; i. Estimation of multiple interrelated dependence relationships ii. Incorporating latent variables not measured directly iii. Defining a model The evolution of SEM has been used by many researchers and it has become one of the renowned statistical techniques which have subsequently called for the publishing of many textbooks such as Byrne (2010) and Kline (2015). Also, many computer software packages in the likes of AMOS, 83 LISREL, and EQS have been created to enable easy computation using computers which have consequently made SEM an easy-to-use analytical technique. (Hair et al., 2006). This study had an objective of developing a model of green marketing practices and drawing the interrelationships among the constructs in the hotel sector. Going further, scales were also generated for each construct in the structural model where an evaluation was made to ascertain the reliability and validity to get an estimation measurement models for each construct that is found in the model while assessing them with regards to measures of fit and interpretation (Hair et al., 2006). This informed the decision for the adoption of the SEM approach as the key statistical technique for this study. A complete SEM model entails measurement and structural models. The development of a model must be founded on the basis of an underlying theory and the goodness of fit of a structural model is measured using the Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI), RMSEA and the Comparative Fit Index (CHI). TLI and CFI are estimated to have a value of 1 but any figure close to 1 also shows a good fit. The acceptable value for RMSEA should be less than 0.8 but 0 is a perfect value for it. The reliability of the construct is measured using composite reliability and the extraction of the average variance. The predicted coefficients are measured for statistical significance and the correct sign and the researcher need to approximate the value to the nearest whole percentage. 4.19 Moderation and Mediation Analysis Mediation and moderation analyses are a key part of what is called process analysis. Hayes (2013), and Baron and Kenny (1986) therefore define a mediator as any variable which “accounts for the 84 relation between the predictor and the criterion.” They further state that a moderator, on the other hand, represents “a qualitative or quantitative variable that affects the direction and/or strength of the relation between an independent and dependent or criterion variable.” Testing the mediation has an objective of giving an understanding of the mechanism through which a causal variable affects an outcome variable (Jose, 2013). Moderators also indicate when or under what conditions a particular effect can be expected (Hayes, 2013). The conceptual model for the study points out the presence of moderations from the predictor variables to the outcome variable. As proposed by Preacher, Rucker and Hayes (2007), there is the need to assess moderation effects within models which contain such scenarios. This helps to examine the prediction levels of the constructs, as well as evaluate factors that affect the strength and direction of construct relationships. This study uses the demographic variables age, gender, education and nationality as the moderating test in the conceptual framework. 4.20 Ethical Consideration It is important to consider ethical issues when conducting research. Malhotra and Birks (2007) refer to ethics as norms of conduct that distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. Furthermore, Malhotra and Birks (2007) reiterate that researchers should evaluate critically their competence and knowledge about ethical guidelines. However, consideration and key attention should be given to the research design before conducting the research to make the findings more credible and ethically acceptable. Malhotra and Birks (2007) further argued that there exist a positive relationship between ethics and the quality of a scientific research, which eventually presumes that a research of low quality has the tendency of being ethically unacceptable. So, it is always ideal to develop a good research design founding it on a good theory 85 and previous studies that have been conducted in the research area. Likewise, all methods that will be used to test the hypotheses must be fit. This is because a research with a poor design will consequently result in an inaccurate conclusion which may distort the populations which it will be applied to (Miles and Huberman, 1994). For the purpose of this research, extant literature was reviewed and the sample size was drawn from an appropriate population with the following ethical considerations as postulated by Malhotra and Birks (2007): i. The right to informed consent; in order to fulfil the right to inform consent consideration, the purpose of the study was explained to likely respondents to enable them to get the understanding and in their own volition and accept to participate in the study without any coercing. ii. Permission: the researcher obtained a written introductory letter from the Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship. This helped the researcher gain permission into the premises of the hotels. iii. Confidentiality and anonymity: Data collected from respondents involved in this study were treated with utmost confidentially and assurances were given that all responses or information given was for an academic purpose and not for any other purpose. No respondent was asked to quote his/her name and all responses were as anonymous as possible. 86 4.21 Chapter Summary The chapter discussed the methodology used in this research. The theoretical opinion employed by the researcher for the study, the research design, sample size, the data collection instrument and method, and ethics were explained in this section on the study. Again, the reliability and validity of the scale for the study was discussed. The data processing and analyses for this study were also examined. 87 CHAPTER FIVE PRESENTATION OF RESULTS AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS 5.0 Introduction This section concentrates on presenting the findings of the analysed data collected. It has been stated in previous chapters that this thesis seeks to establish how green marketing practices impact on customer satisfaction. Age, gender, education and nationality are used as the moderators to assess the indirect paths of the proposed relationships. The data analysis was presented in three parts: the first presented the demographics statistics obtained for the study; the second examined structural analysis conducted using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) through Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) and the third, examined the interactions obtained from the data analysis. SPSS was used for the descriptive analysis, whereas AMOS was used for SEM since it is well suited to handle highly complex predictive models (Jöreskog & Wold, 1982). 5.1 Data Screening and Treatment of Missing Data Data collected from the survey was coded, entered into the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and screened for analysis. The screening process, according to Coakes (2006), involves scanning through the data to check for missing data and outliers that could skew the data and the results of the analysis. 5.2 Demographic Profile of Respondents Table 5.1 gives a detailed profile of the demographic features (age, gender, education and nationality) of respondents that participated in the study. From Table 5.1, with regards to age, most participants were in the range of (31-40) representing 27%. The outcomes of the investigation 88 revealed that more than half of participant who took part in the research were males, representing 63% of the gender respondent. Regarding educational credentials, the investigation revealed that most of the participants for the research had tertiary education, that’s 83%, signifying that almost all the participants had a fair understanding of the idea ecological marketing practices and consumer fulfilment, emphasising the level of understanding of the questionnaire. About 49% of respondents had a salary range of 5000 Ghana Cedis and above, indicating that they or their companies could afford the best hotels and the price of being in a five to three-star hotel. Again, the investigation from the research recorded that most of the people who took part in the study were foreigners, representing 63%. 89 Table 5.1: Demographic Variable Demographic Frequency Percent Mean S.E. SD Skewness Kurtosis Variable Age (in years) 2.61 .085 1.28 .312 -1.04 18 – 30 55 24.2 31 – 40 62 27.3 41 – 50 46 20.3 51 – 60 44 19.4 Above 60 20 8.8 Gender 1.37 .032 .49 .522 -1.74 Male 142 62.6 Female 85 37.4 Educational 2.82 .028 .43 -2.27 4.58 Level JHS 4 1.8 SHS 34 15.0 Tertiary 189 83.3 Income (in Ghc) 3.89 .091 1.37 -1.0 -.26 None 26 11.5 Below 1000 12 5.3 1001-3000 34 15.0 3001-5000 43 18.9 Above 5000 112 49.3 Nationality 1.63 .032 .48 -.56 -1.70 Ghanaians 83 36.6 Foreigners 144 63.4 Source: Field Data, 2017 90 5.3 Assessment of Normality According to Hair et al., (2010) and Fornell and Larcker, (1981), the dataset for SEM must be normally distributed. Thus, it is important it measures the normality of variables used in the study. The researcher used Skewness and Kurtosis to examine the normality of the statistics. This was done to ensure that the variables were normally distributed. Hair et al. (2010), noted that minor nonconformities from normality can be substantial for studies that utilise huge model dimensions, thus the sample size of more than 200 participants. Skewness measures the irregularity of delivery, whereas kurtosis measures the fact in the delivery variables where dataset peak (Kim, 2013). Hair et al. (2010) say information can be measured as standard, once the standards for skewness and kurtosis are within the array of +1 or -1. The present research --utilised SPSS in testing for normality. The subsequent statistics indicated that the data were normally distributed. This is illustrated in Table 5.2. 91 Table 5.2: Descriptive Statistics and Test of Normality of Variables Items Code Mean S.E. Std. Skewness Kurtosis Mean Deviation WATER This hotel has a deliberate strategy to conserve water WACON1 3.41 0.09 1.32 -0.44 -0.94 This hotel reuses towels and bed linens in order to WACON2 3.42 0.09 1.29 -0.39 -0.97 conserve water This hotel uses treated wastewater in garden irrigation WACON3 3.43 0.09 1.31 -0.37 -1.00 This hotel uses water-smart landscapes to reduce the WACON2 3.45 0.09 1.32 -0.40 -0.98 water needed for irrigation This hotel makes use of low-flow toilets, faucets, WACON5 3.47 0.09 1.30 -0.45 -0.92 sinks and showerheads FOOD This hotel provides organic meals FOQ1 3.68 0.08 1.17 -0.92 0.08 This hotel provides natural fruit drinks FOQ2 3.72 0.08 1.18 -0.91 0.04 This hotel provides less fatty foods FOQ3 3.68 0.08 1.15 -0.82 -0.10 This hotel provides adequate information about their FOQ4 3.70 0.08 1.14 -0.93 0.15 food and beverage ENERGY This hotel uses automatic lighting sensors in corridors ENCON1 3.75 0.08 1.13 -0.85 0.03 and lobby This hotel uses sensors in the rooms to control ENCON2 3.78 0.07 1.08 -0.80 -0.07 lighting, air conditioning and other equipment This hotel uses in-room TV and leaflets to inform ENCON3 3.88 0.07 1.09 -0.95 0.18 guests in hotel about their green practices This hotel uses various means to encourage guests to ENCON4 3.75 0.08 1.14 -0.72 -0.34 consume less electricity This hotel uses key-card systems that control lights ENCON5 3.73 0.07 1.10 -0.74 -0.10 This hotel uses solar powered systems ENCON6 3.84 0.07 1.13 -0.89 0.01 WASTE This hotel provides waste bins in guest’s rooms WAMA1 3.54 0.08 1.15 -0.58 -0.31 This hotel provides waste bins in the lobby WAMA2 3.56 0.08 1.15 -0.69 -0.17 This hotel provides clear signage indicating toxic WAMA3 3.37 0.07 1.10 -0.47 -0.41 substances/danger zones This hotel provides refillable soap and cream WAMA4 3.53 0.08 1.16 -0.60 -0.39 dispensers in their restroom This hotel provides individually packaged pieces of WAMA5 3.57 0.08 1.18 -0.56 -0.46 soap in guest’s bathrooms AIR This hotel has clear designation of smoking and non- AIRQ1 3.44 0.08 1.25 -0.52 -0.62 smoking areas This hotel has facilities monitoring and maintaining AIRQ2 3.37 0.07 1.12 -0.55 -0.50 good air quality This hotel has good ventilation in the rooms, lobby AIRQ3 3.45 0.08 1.23 -0.51 -0.55 and restaurant NOISE This hotel has acceptable level of noise NOPO1 3.49 0.09 1.30 -0.61 -0.70 This hotel has clear directions to control noise levels NOPO2 3.49 0.08 1.26 -0.53 -0.70 92 Items Code Mean S.E. Std. Skewness Kurtosis Mean Deviation This hotel has the mechanism to maintain sound proof NOPO3 3.47 0.09 1.30 -0.54 -0.77 noise levels SATISFACTION I have a positive feeling staying in this hotel CUSAT1 4.35 0.04 .637 -.466 -.668 I am happy staying in this hotel CUSAT2 4.44 .040 .602 -.551 -.603 I am satisfied staying in this hotel CUSAT3 4.35 .042 .637 -.466 -.668 Source: Field Data, 2017 For the descriptive statistics of the individual variables used for the study, the means show that the respondent does not generally have a strong agreement to the fact that hotels in Ghana have in place green marketing practices. The highest mean recorded was “this hotel uses in-room TV and leaflets to inform guest in the hotel about their green practices” (mean=3.88). The lowest mean was (3.37) “this hotel provides clear signage indicating toxic substance/danger zones”. In analysing the satisfaction level of guests in the hotels, the guests indicated a great level of satisfaction with the highest mean of (4.44) “I am happy staying in this hotel”. All the means of the customer satisfaction items are above 4.0 signifying a high level of satisfaction. 5.4 Confirmatory Factor Analysis One of the key benefits of Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) is the capacity to assess numerous related dependence associations (Hair et al. 2010; Bagozzi & Yi, 2012). Structural Equation Modelling using AMOS 20 was employed since it relies on multiple statistical tests to describe the overall strength of a model’s predictions (Jöreskog & Sörbom, 1996). There are a number of goodness-of-fit measures that need to be combined to assess the results from three perspectives: overall fit, comparative fit to a base model, and model parsimony (Hair et al., 2010; Byrne, 2016). As a result of the multiple perspective evaluations, Bollen (1989) suggests that determining an 93 acceptable model fit ultimately rests with the researcher. Hence, the researcher selected the commonly acceptable fit indices used in social research. 5.5 Assessment of Measurement Model Prior research has stated the importance of testing the validity and reliability of the measurement since the structural model could be pointless except it recognises that the dimension model supports the argument (Bagozzi & Yi, 2012; Jöreskog & Sörbom, 1996). Therefore, the assessment of the measurement models is the first step in any SEM process as it ensures that statements (unobserved variables) are actually measuring construct (observed variables). The measurement models were assessed with the use of three main criteria: (1) Convergent validity; (2) Reliability; and (3) Discriminant validity following the suggestion of Hair et al. (2013). Table 5.3 depicts the assessment of the measurement model. 94 Table 5.3: Factor Loadings of Measurement Items Constructs Items S.E. C.R. P Loading Water WaCon1 0.893 0.042 23.104 *** WaCon2 0.902 0.04 23.803 *** WaCon3 0.920 0.039 25.469 *** WaCon4 0.941 0.037 27.631 *** WaCon5 0.933 Fixed Food FoBv1 0.912 0.048 21.511 *** FoBv2 0.894 0.05 20.532 *** FoBv3 0.885 0.049 20.023 *** FoBv4 0.901 Fixed Energy EnCon1 0.838 0.052 18.027 *** EnCon2 0.848 0.049 18.458 *** EnCon3 0.870 0.048 19.593 *** EnCon4 0.900 0.048 21.272 *** EnCon5 0.867 0.048 19.406 *** EnCon6 0.904 Fixed Waste WaMa1 0.874 0.053 18.414 *** WaMa2 0.838 0.055 16.959 *** WaMa3 0.897 0.049 19.447 *** WaMa4 0.901 0.052 19.593 *** WaMa5 0.877 Fixed Air AirQ1 0.822 0.063 13.876 *** AirQ2 0.747 0.032 22.782 *** AirQ3 0.793 Fixed *** Noise NoPo1 0.866 0.043 20.606 *** NoPo2 0.844 0.043 19.413 *** NoPo3 0.976 Fixed Satisfaction CuSat1 0.720 0.032 22.782 *** CuSat2 0.823 0.032 22.782 *** CuSat3 0.807 Fixed *** Source: Field Data, 2017 Convergent validity of the items was assessed by standardised loadings. The standardised loadings analysis is driven by the theoretical relationships among the observed and unobserved variables (Schreiber, Nora, Stage, Barlow & King, 2006). All the standardised loadings for the items met 95 the minimum threshold value of 0.70 as suggested by Hair et al. (2014). This, therefore, provided support for convergent validity (Hair et al., 2014). The reliability of each item was assessed by calculating composite reliability (CR). Table 5.4 below revealed that all the modified measurement models, had the reliability measures in this study above the acceptable satisfactory levels (Average Variance Extracted >.50, composite reliability >.70) as recommended by scholars (Hair et al., 2013; Nunnally, 1978). Thus, the internal consistency (composite reliability) for each construct were larger than the minimum required level of 0.70. Discriminant validity was assessed based on the Fornell-Lacker criterion and cross loadings. The Fornell-Larcker criterion suggested by Fornell and Larcker (1981) states that the square root of AVE on the diagonal should be greater than the correlation shared between the construct and the other constructs. The AVE on the diagonals in Table 5.4 below presented the square root of the AVE and the correlations among constructs. The correlations among the constructs are less than the square root of the AVE, an indication of discriminant validity Table 5.4: Reliability and Discriminant Validity CR AVE WATER FOOD ENERGY AIR NOISE CUSTOMER WATER 0.964 0.843 0.918 FOOD 0.943 0.807 0.194 0.898 ENERGY 0.950 0.76 -0.048 0.105 0.872 WASTE 0.944 0.77 0.149 0.082 0.04 AIR 0.831 0.621 -0.01 -0.061 0.011 0.788 NOISE 0.925 0.806 -0.024 -0.109 -0.017 -0.023 0.897 CUSTOMER 0.827 0.616 -0.008 0.454 0.194 0.137 -0.141 0.785 Source: Field Data, 2017 96 5.6 Fit Measurement The use of at least two fit indices has been recommended as essential in verifying the fitness of the model. Popular indices used in structural equation modelling include absolute, incremental and parsimonious measures (Hair et al., 2010; Holmes-Smith, Coote & Cunningham, 2006). These three measures were adopted in this study. The Chi-square (x2/df) value was (1.934) which indicates a statistical significance at P≥ 0.05. The Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) was the second measure that was deployed to test for the fitness of the model. The RMSEA value obtained (.064) was within the acceptable range of 0.80 or less, further corroborating the fitness of the model (Byrne, 2010; Diamantopoulos & Siguaw, 2000). The incremental fit measures were used because they provide a comparison between the proposed model and the null model (Hair et al., 2010). The Normed Fit Index (NFI) was the first incremental measure reported, and the value obtained was (.843), which indicated a near perfect fit (Hair et al., 2010). The Comparative Fit Indices (CFI) was also used as a measure to support the NFI given that the NFI does not control for degrees of freedom. CFI values are said to be acceptable when they fall within the range of 0.90 or greater. The CFI value obtained for this study was (.966). All the incremental fit measures indicated that the model was fit. The Chi square (X2), according to Hooper, Couglan and Mullen (2008), is the traditional measure of overall fitness. Hooper, Couglan, and Mullen (2008) posit that a good model fit will provide the insignificant result as 0.05 threshold; and a relative/normed chi-square (x2/df) must be less than 2.0. The Root means square error of approximation (RMSEA) according to Hooper, Couglan and Mullen (2008) must not exceed 0.08. The Comparative fit index (CFI) according to Hooper, Couglan, and Mullen (2008) must be greater than or equal to 0.95 as an indicative of good fit. 97 Table 5.5: Fit Measurement Fit Indices Modification PClose RMSEA GFI NFI CFI x2/df CFA Measurement Model 0.184 .064 .966 .843 .907 1.934 THRESHOD >.05 <.08 >.95 >.95 >.95 1<3 Source: Gaskin & Lim (2016), Schreiber et al. (2006), Hu & Bentler (1999). 5.7 Assessing Structural Model In examining the structural model, the attention is on the proposed hypotheses that reflect the relationships between the latent variables. The purpose is assessing whether the data support the proposed conceptualization. According to Frone, Russell and Cooper (1992), key issues of interest are: (i) whether the directions of the relationships between the constructs are as hypothesized, which can be examined looking at the signs of the respective parameters; (ii) the strength of the hypothesized links, reflected by the estimated parameters, which should be at least significant (i.e., their respective t-values should be greater than 1.96), and (iii) the amount of variance in the endogenous variables explained by the respective proposed determinants, which can be evaluated looking at the squared multiple correlations (R2) for the structural equations. 5.8 Analysis of Hypothesised Relationships After the structural model, there was the need to test the hypothesised relationships in the model. The initial set of analysis assessed the relationship between green marketing practices and customer satisfaction. Table 5.6 illustrates the statistical and graphical results emerging from the structural equation modelling test of the hypothesised paths. 98 Table 5.6: Structural Model Assessment Results Path β R2 t- p- Label Hypothesis Estimate Values Values CS <--- Green Marketing 0.396 SUPPORTED H1 CS <--- WATER -0.036 -1.17 0.242 NOT H2a SUPPORTED CS <--- FOOD 0.326 8.685 *** SUPPORTED H2b CS <--- ENERGY 0.069 1.898 0.058 SUPPORTED H2c CS <--- WASTE -0.025 -0.701 0.483 NOT H2d SUPPORTED CS <--- AIR 0.229 7.829 *** SUPPORTED H2e CS <--- NOISE -0.068 -2.352 0.019 SUPPORTED H2f Source: Field Data, 2017. Table 5.6 indicates the hypothesised relationships (H1 and H2a-2f) for the direct relationship between green practices and customer satisfaction. The first objective of the study which was to assess the overall effect of green marketing on customer satisfaction found that the green marketing practice is a good predictor of customer satisfaction. The analysis found that 39.6% of the variance of customer satisfaction in hotels can be explained by the perception of the adoption and use of green marketing practices by hotels in the study’s model. This result implies that green marketing practices are an important aspect of ensuring customer satisfaction in hotels. Specific dimensions of green practices in the hotels (water conservation, food quality, energy conservation, waste management, air quality and noise pollution) were analysed to determine the satisfaction levels of the hotel customers. The outcome of the investigation showed the undeviating connection between water conservation and consumer satisfaction, and the direct relationship between waste management and customer satisfaction were not significant, meaning H2a, and H2d did not support 99 the proposed hypothesis. Food quality, energy conservation, air quality and noise pollution, on the other hand, were significant, thus H2b, H2c, H2e and H1f supported the proposed hypothesis. Indicating that food, energy, air and noise are seen as very important green marketing practices in hotels in Ghana. However, even though other studies (Binder & Varga, 2015; Iwanowski & Rushmore, 1994) showed that the components of waste management and water conservation, though very important green marketing practices in the hotel industry, do not significantly impact guest satisfaction. 100 Figure 5.1: Structural Model for Hypothesis Testing AGE GENDER NATIONALITY H2a EDUCATION WATER -.03 6 (.242) H2b H FOOD 3 (a-f) .326 (***) H2c ENERGY .06 9 (.058) H1 CUSTOMER R2 = 0.396 SATISFACTION H WASTE 2d -.025 (.483) H AIR 2e .22 9 (***) H2f NOISE -.06 8 (.019) Source: Field Data, 2017. 5.9 Test for Variance of Demographic Variables In addition to the test of significance of green marketing practices on customer satisfaction as illustrated in the conceptual framework, a variance test of the effect of demographics of respondents was also analysed. The variance test carried out on one path relationship which is the relationship between green marketing practices and customer satisfaction. The test for differences involved the use of demographic variables of age, gender, nationality, and education to find out 101 whether there is the statistically significant difference between green marketing and customer satisfaction among respondents who use hotels. A variance analysis as carried out to draw a comparison on the significant differences between green practices and customer satisfaction when these demographic variables are introduced into the model. 5.9.1 The Difference between Age and Customer satisfaction of Green Marketing Hotels This study sought to assess the differences among age groups on the effect of green marketing practices and customer satisfaction. This is to determine whether there is a difference between the young and old hotel guest in terms of their level of customer satisfaction as a result of the existence of green marketing practices. The results are presented in Table 5.7 below. Table 5.7: The Effect of Age on Green Marketing and Customer Satisfaction Construct Age of Respondents Mean Std. Deviation F Sig. WACON Young 3.5706 1.13761 2.248 .135 Old 3.1666 1.21071 FOQ Young 3.6654 .91435 4.997 .026 Old 3.4592 1.04089 ENCON Young 3.7238 1.04359 1.914 .168 Old 3.8594 .93826 WAMA Young 3.5608 .97578 .463 .497 Old 3.3420 1.05278 AIRQ Young 3.4511 1.24855 .146 .702 Old 3.4604 1.20926 NOPO Young 3.3559 1.13277 7.295 .007 Old 3.4635 1.35366 Source: Field Data, 2017. From the variance results in Table 5.7, there was a mean difference between the “young and old” respondents on the relationship between green practices and customer satisfaction of hotels. The 102 proposed variance effect was supported in the case of noise pollution, and food conservation. This implies that age does not result in a difference in the relationship between hotels users’ perception of other green marketing practices with respect to waste management, air quality, energy conservation, and water conservation; and customer satisfaction. With respect to noise pollution and food quality, the younger respondents (mean = 3.5559, mean = 3.6654) respectively, are more likely to be satisfied as a result of noise management, and food quality by hotels than older respondents. This implies that young users of hotels are more concerned about the green marketing practices and this affects their perception of how satisfied they are. This finding agrees with the other studies that posit that young people are motivated to making green hotel lodging decisions (Cawley, 2004; Miller, 2003). The variance analysis found that age (F= 7.2950, p< .007) is a discriminator of the relationship between noise pollution and customer satisfaction of hotel users. Also, age (F=4.997, p< .026) is a discriminator between the perception of food quality and customer satisfaction. Other studies (Evanschitzky & Wunderlich, 2006; Ratchford, 1999) have advocated for an investigation into the moderating effect of age. 5.9.2 The Difference between Gender and Customer satisfaction of Green Marketing Hotels To further establish that demographic variables have an effect on customer satisfaction as a result of the existence of green marketing practices, this study assessed the effect of gender of respondent on customer satisfaction of green marketing hotel. The variance analysis is found in Table 5.8 below. 103 Table 5.8: The Effect of Gender on Green Marketing and Customer Satisfaction Construct Gender of Respondents Mean Std. Deviation F Sig. WACON Female 3.4072 1.26630 2.464 .118 Male 3.3355 1.14664 FOQ Female 3.5144 1.08109 3.864 .051 Male 3.5859 .92550 ENCON Female 3.7460 .98897 .046 .831 Male 3.8223 .99432 WAMA Female 3.3947 1.09357 2.154 .144 Male 3.4799 .97568 AIRQ Female 3.4774 1.19709 .272 .603 Male 3.4430 1.24660 NOPO Female 3.4510 1.22572 .488 .486 Male 3.3876 1.26789 Source: Field Data, 2017. From Table 5.8, the difference in gender is not statistically significant (p>0.005) on almost all the relationships between green marketing practices and customer satisfaction. It was found that gender of respondents is a discriminator (F=3.864, p<.051) of only the connection concerning food quality and guests fulfilment. However, the finding shows that males are more likely to consider food quality of hotels (mean=3.5859) as against females (mean=3.5144), which is not in line with the arguments made by some scholars (Laroche et al., 2001; Saad & Gill, 2000). 5.9.3 The Difference between Nationality and Customer satisfaction of Green Marketing Hotels. People of different nationality were also considered for a variance analysis to determine whether there is a difference between customers satisfaction of green marketing hotels among foreign and local guest. 104 Table 5.9: The Effect of Nationality on Customer Satisfaction of Green Marketing Practices Construct Nationality of Respondents Mean Std. Deviation F Sig. WACON Foreigners 3.4626 1.17583 .084 .772 Ghanaians 3.1884 1.20308 FOQ Foreigners 3.6316 .92266 6.618 .011 Ghanaians 3.4333 1.07869 ENCON Foreigners 3.8056 1.01578 1.422 .234 Ghanaians 3.7730 .95165 WAMA Foreigners 3.3848 1.04449 .830 .363 Ghanaians 3.5577 .97207 AIRQ Foreigners 3.4163 1.24347 .134 .714 Ghanaians 3.5246 1.19870 NOPO Foreigners 3.4439 1.20786 2.709 .101 Ghanaians 3.3550 1.32535 Source: Field Data, 2017. Table 5.9 shows the difference between the nationality of respondents and their perception of green marketing practices. The results show that the nationality is a discriminator (F= 6.6618, p=.011) only of food quality and customer satisfaction. This implies that the nationality of hotel customer affects the perception of food quality. The results show that foreigners (Mean= 3.4626) are more likely to be satisfied with a hotel with food quality than Ghanaians (Mean= 3.1884). The highest mean (3.8056) from the table shows that foreigners are more likely to be satisfied with hotels that put in place energy conservation than Ghanaians. This finding is in line with the study of (Berezan et al., 2013), who states that people with experience in different countries have a complex perception of hotel satisfaction due to the different experience they have been exposed to. 105 5.9.4 The Difference between Education and Customer satisfaction of Green Marketing Hotels The level of education of respondents was also considered as a discriminator of green hotel customer satisfaction measure. The assumption is that the educational level of hotel guests may have a significant effect on their perception of customer satisfaction. Table 5.10: The Effect of Education on Customer Satisfaction of Green Marketing Practices Construct Educational Level of Respondents Mean Std. Dev F Sig. WACON JHS 3.2751 1.34915 2.339 0.099 SHS/A level 2.9607 1.34393 Tertiary 3.4364 1.15025 FOQ JHS 2.5087 1.30173 7.541 0.001 SHS/A level 3.0955 1.14395 Tertiary 3.6647 0.9142 ENCON JHS 4.0890 0.61829 0.398 0.672 SHS/A level 3.6848 1.02322 Tertiary 3.8070 0.99302 WAMA JHS 2.1674 1.01965 4.533 0.012 SHS/A level 3.2230 1.00993 Tertiary 3.5156 1.00304 AIRQ JHS 3.2621 0.49011 0.496 0.61 SHS/A level 3.2764 1.23225 Tertiary 3.4923 1.23604 NOPO JHS 3.4973 0.88155 0.059 0.943 SHS/A level 3.4722 1.51594 Tertiary 3.3986 1.20884 Source: Field Data, 2017. The effect of education of respondent was analysed using three educational levels: JHS, SHS, and tertiary. The variance results in Table 5.10 above show that educational level of the respondent is a discriminator of waste management and food quality. With waste management, the effect of 106 educational level of the respondent is statistically significant (F=4.533, p<.012) with the relationship between waste management and customer satisfaction. It is important to note that the higher the educational level, respondents are more likely to be satisfied with the services of a hotel when they adopt proper waste management strategies. From the table, respondents with the tertiary educational background (mean=3.5158) are more likely to be satisfied with hotel services as compared to respondents with SHS/ A Level (3.223), and JHS (2.1674). With food quality, educational level was seen to be a discriminator (F= 7.541, p< .001) of the relationship between food quality and customer satisfaction. As expected, respondents with higher (tertiary) educational level were found to be more likely to feel satisfied with hotels with food quality than other respondents with the lower educational background. These findings confirm the results of other studies which argue that highly educated individuals are more environmentally conscious and are likely to develop eco-friendly intentions (Roberts, 1996). 5.10 Discussions of Findings In this section, the researcher relates the research findings in the previous section to the three main objectives of the research, i.e. (1) to establish the impact of green marketing practices on customer satisfaction, (2) to establish the relative significance of green marketing practices on customer satisfaction and (3) to determine the impact of demographic variables on green marketing practices and customer satisfaction and relate the findings to published literature. The fundamental basis of this study is to ascertain whether green marketing practices of hotels affect the level of satisfaction of customers. The discussions are presented based on the findings of the study in relation to the literature that has been presented under the subject matter under review. The discussions are presented based on the research objectives. 107 5.10.1 The Impact of Green Marketing Practices on Customer Satisfaction In order to know guests’ opinions in the hotel, it’s important that we measure their satisfaction with the service provided. This is important because guests have different expectations about the service being offered (Dominici and Guzzo, 2010). For instance, Robinot’s and Giannelloni’s (2010), some guests in the hotels value the reuse of linens and towels as a basic attribute that they expect from hotels, and the absence of such an attribute was considered to have a negative effect on customer satisfaction. Yusof and Amalina (2014), found that most customers favoured green practices that they were used to and practised in their homes, for instance, reusing of products, beddings and bath towel re-use and using natural cleaning products. Guests did not, however, want green practices that are unfamiliar and inconvenient. Manaktola and Jauhari (2007), also mention in their study that hotel guests expect a tangible demonstration of green practices like recycling bins in the lobby and room, the use of energy saving light bulbs as well as bath towel and bedding re-use programs and having ecological endorsement and key card systems. In summary, the study showed that guests have a positive effect if they are engaged in the green practices of the hotels. 5.10.2 The Relative Significant Impact of Green Marketing Practices and Customer Satisfaction in Hotels. This subsection is organised around the six dimensions of green practices variables in this present study, which include water conservation, food quality, energy conservation, waste management, air quality and noise pollution and compares it with findings from previous literature investigated. The study sought to test the practices which best fit Ghanaian customers understanding of green practices and also facilitate hotels consciousness to construct high adequate and competent ecological practices. Previous studies (Yusof & Amalina, 2014) suggest that customers preferred 108 tangible practices when it comes to green practices. They also favour practices which they can participate in, for instance, practices such as energy and waste practices like reutilizing platforms, beddings and towel re-use programmes, using natural cleaning products, power-efficiency systems, and key card systems (Millar, Mayer & Baloglu, 2012). The effect of water management in terms of the practices to conserve water through the treatment of water for reuse is very crucial in the hotel industry. For instance, using waste water for irrigation of gardening, the use of low-flow toilets and showerheads, the use of faucets, and sinks helps the hotels to conserve water. One will expect that these practices will affect the level of satisfaction of the guest, but the results of this study proved otherwise. This study does not conform to studies that have advocated for the adoption of water conservation methods (Manaktola & Jauhari, 2007; Rao & Holt, 2005). It can be argued that this green marketing practice may lead to other positive outcomes of an organisation such as reducing the cost of purchasing water for hotel use. However as mentioned earlier, water conservation did not have statistical significance to customer satisfaction. This may be due to fact that water conservation is not really a matter of concern to this sample as compared to food quality, energy conservation, air quality and noise pollution. Furthermore, the effect of food quality on customer satisfaction of hotels found that there is a positive and significant relationship between these variables. This indicates that customers of hotels perceive the provision of organic meals, less fatty foods as well as the provision of natural fruit drinks as a means of preventing health issues related to diet. Customers also see the provision of adequate information about food and beverage as a necessity. This is in agreement with (Carballo‐Penela, Castromán‐Diz, 2015; Pullman, Maloni & Carter, 2009) who says, the ability of 109 a hotel to ensure the quality of food and beverage could reduce the cost of operation due to the elimination of the waste that could be generated. The customer satisfaction as a result of this green marketing practice could be as a result of the fact that hotels do not need to pay much in terms of waste and therefore relieving guest from paying for the waste (Jin, Lee & Lee, 2015). With respect to energy conservation, the study found that the importance of energy conservation practices in ensuring customers are satisfied cannot be overemphasised. This assertion has also been confirmed by other studies which argued that the ability of an organisation to maintain good energy practices will definitely result in positive organisational outcomes (Lin, 2013; Sen & Bhattacharya 2001). It can, therefore, be argued that hotels that have in place good energy conservation practices in the form of using automatic sensors, information to educate guest on energy saving tips, and the adoption of renewable energy sources such as solar are likely to enhance their reputation and customer satisfaction. The next green marketing variable which is waste management was found not to support the hypothesis that it has a significant relationship with customer satisfaction. From the literature, studies posit that waste management as a green marketing practice makes consumers satisfied with the services of hotels (Lee, Hsu, Han & Kim, 2010; Manaktola & Jauhari, 2007). In the context of Ghana, the study found that there is a negative relationship between waste management and customer satisfaction. This result could be explained by the fact that the guests in the hotels did not want to be bothered about how the hotel manages their waste products but was only comfortable to see the hotel clean. More so, the customers of the hotel might see the waste management as the sole business of the hotels and not the customers. 110 Again, the research sought to determine the relationship between air quality as a green marketing practice and customer satisfaction. The study found that there is a positive and significant relationship between air quality and customer satisfaction. This finding is in line with other studies that propose that an organisation’s ability to ensure the clean and safe environment is crucial in providing better services to customers (Lee, Hsu, Han & Kim, 2010; Manaktola & Jauhari, 2007; Ottman, Stafford, & Hartman, 2006). In the green marketing of hotels, the emphasis is therefore on the ability of the hotel to keep a clear designated area for smoking and non-smoking areas, availability of good ventilation in rooms, and mechanisms for monitoring and maintaining good air quality. From the study, it is clear that keeping quality air is very crucial in delivering acceptable customer service in the hotel industry. Likewise, with regards to noise pollution, the study found that there is a significant relationship between noise pollution and customer. This implies that the users of hotels included in the study view noise management practices by hotel management as very necessary leading to their satisfaction. This confirms that the hotels understudied have in place the acceptable level of noise, clear directions to control noise, and mechanisms are put in place to keep sound using sound proof devices. These practices are definitely very crucial in keeping a serene and relaxing environment in a hotel setting which is one of the most important issues any customer of a hotel will consider in rating their level of satisfaction. Even though all the six dimensions of green practices are important, four out of the six practices namely: noise pollution, air quality, energy conservation, food quality were found to have statistically significant relationships with customer satisfaction. Thus, it is expected that for hotels 111 to be able to satisfy their customers using green marketing practices, these four green marketing practices must be part of their everyday activities. The four green marketing practices are seen to be the most important green marketing practices among guests who are satisfied with the services of hotels in Ghana. This implies that guests consider these four green marketing activities as critical; as such this finding signifies the need to build on them to ensure there is an improvement in the level of customer satisfaction. 5.10.3 Impact of Demographic Variables on the Relationship between Green Marketing Practices and Customer Satisfaction A build up on the previous findings is that this section sought to assess the effects of demographic variables of age, gender, nationality, and education on the relationship between green marketing practices and customer satisfaction. With reference to the third research objective, it is important to determine the effect of the demographics of respondents in other to arrive at the difference in the perceptions of green marketing practices and customer satisfaction among groups classified using age, gender, nationality, and level of education. • Age Results from this study show that age has an influence on the connection concerning noise pollution and customer satisfaction, and food quality and customer satisfaction. This result implies that there is a difference in hotel guests’ satisfaction in relation to the noise pollution, and food quality due to their age. With regards to noise pollution, it was found out that the older guests in the hotels are more satisfied than the younger guests when noise pollution is managed. This is consistent with Kim, Kim and Kim (2009) and Smith, (2012). However, with the food quality, the 112 younger population in the hotel were more satisfied with quality food than the older populace confirming the results of (Chia-Jung and Pei-Chun, 2014) and also because of their taste and preferences preferred for quality supporting (Ahmad & Juhdi, 2008; Said, Ahmadun, Paim & Masud, 2003; Suki, 2013) arguments. • Gender With gender, the findings of this study were that gender is not a discriminator on almost all the relationship between green marketing practices and customer satisfaction except for food quality. This implies that gender as a demographic variable does not lead to differences in perception of most of the green marketing practices and its resulting effect on customer satisfaction among hotel guests. For food quality, males were found to consider food quality more important than females. This finding contradicts findings from Chikita, (2012), who revealed that gender has no significance on an individual’s decision to accept environmentally-friendly activities. Moreover, Han et al. (2009, 2011) also discovered that women have higher levels of environmental consumption intention than men, even in the context of hotels. In this context, however, these findings from Chikita (2012) and Han et al. (2009, 2011) go contrary to the findings of this research. • Nationality With the effect of nationality on the perception of green marketing and customer satisfaction, this study assumed that there is a difference in judgement between foreigners and locals who use hotels in Ghana. Results from the study showed that, the nationality of respondents is a discriminator of food quality and customer satisfaction. This implies that nationality does not affect the perception 113 of other green marketing practices and customer satisfaction apart from food quality. This finding is contrary to the study of Leonidou, Coudounaris, Kvasova and Christodoulides, (2015) which found that, tourists from Western European countries (e.g., British) were more environmentally- friendly and this could be attributed to the fact that Western European countries have stricter environmental laws, more powerful environmental pressure groups, and a better established green culture, all of which positively influence their citizens’ environmental thinking and actions. Furthermore, the results of earlier works indicate that differences exist in tourist environmental attitudes among different nationalities. For instance, Kang and Moscardo (2006) revealed substantial cross-cultural variances in approaches toward responsible tourism among Korean, British, and Australian tourists. Additionally, Berezan, Raab, Yoo and Love (2013) found that the relative importance of green hotel practices differs between American and Mexican tourists. Baysan (2001) reported that German tourists are more ecologically conscious than Russian and Turkish tourists. According to Yusof and Amalina, (2014), the locality of the under consideration and the knowledge of ecological awareness of consumers may inspire consumers’ intent to pay well for green products. Two studies conducted in North America, reveals that, participators communicated their eagerness to pay a higher premium for ecological products (Kotler, 2011; Han, Hsu, & Lee, 2009), whereas several other studies in different countries (Malaysia, China, India and New Zealand) revealed contrary results (Kasim, 2004; Fairweather, Maslin & Simmons, 2005; Manaktola & Jauhari, 2007; Chan, 2013). In accession, consumers that are ecologically mindful in their houses are labelled as people eager to pay a premium for ecological products (Han et al., 2009). Americans are presumed to be knowledgeable on ecologically friendly behaviour. Hence, they support towards eco-friendly practices and are eager to pay additional money for ecological products (Yusof & Amalina, 2014). 114 • Education Finally, the study found that the educational level of respondents is a discriminator of waste management and food quality. As expected, respondents with higher educational level were seen as being satisfied with the services of the hotel due to the adoption of green marketing practices except for air quality and energy conservation. This implies that hotel guests who have a high level of education will attach more importance to green marketing practices of hotels and this is likely to increase their level of satisfaction with the services of the hotel. 5.11 Chapter Summary The research sample in this study were guests who had used and experienced the services of the selected hotels within a duration of the past one month. The study revealed that the guests appreciate the hotel's practising green marketing. However, the practices that stood out in this study were food quality, energy conservation, air quality and noise pollution. But of all the variables or dimensions under the study, all the guests agreed that food quality is essential and contributes to their satisfaction level in the hotels. 115 CHAPTER SIX SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 6.0 Introduction This concluding chapter discusses the summary of the research, conclusions made from the study, and finally, presents recommendations for future research and industry practice. The chapter is therefore organised into three sections. The first section discusses the findings of the study based on the three objectives set out by the study. The next section focuses on the general conclusions drawn from the study. The final segment of the chapter presents some recommendations for industry practice regarding green marketing practices of hotels. The chapter ends with some contributions to research and directions for future research. 6.1 Summary of Major Findings of the Study This research was specifically aimed at understanding the effect of green marketing practices on customer satisfaction of hotels in Ghana. In order to achieve this, three major research objectives were formulated. These research objectives discussed informed the formulation of a conceptual framework which clearly represented all the relationships that exist among the constructs. The relationship between green marketing practices and customer satisfaction was established by drawing on how customers are satisfied with the green marketing practices of hotels. The link which was assessed is that, the existence of green marketing practices of hotels is likely to lead to customer satisfaction. The study on green marketing strategy was informed by the various research attempts made to expose the concept to a number of industries. However, the study on green marketing on marketing performance outcomes such as customer satisfaction seems to be lacking. 116 This study is one of those which seek to build on the use of green marketing to achieve competitive advantage in the marketplace. This led to the development of six hypothesis to establish that green marketing practices have a significant relationship with customer satisfaction. The first objective sought to assess the overall impact of the green marketing practices of the hotels on customer satisfaction. This is aimed at understanding the contributions of green marketing to the customer satisfaction of hotel guest(s). The results of the study found that the combined effect of green marketing practices on customer satisfaction cannot be underestimated. The result shows that 39.6% of the variance in the customer satisfaction level of hotels could be explained by green marketing practices. This, therefore, is an indication that hotels must consider green marketing as one of the most important marketing issues as this greatly affects the satisfaction of users. This discovery is quite encouraging in the sense that all the services rendered by hotels have a form of green marketing issues involved. The second objective studied the relative significance of green marketing practices and customer satisfaction of hotel guests in Ghana. The six green marketing practices discussed and used for data collection are water conservation, food quality, energy conservation, waste management, air quality and noise pollution. These green marketing practices were assessed based on the arguments made by other scholars that they are important in achieving organisational outcomes. The findings prove that four of the hypothesis relating to food quality, energy conservation, air quality and noise pollution were supported. These four green marketing practices were found to have a significant impact on customer satisfaction. The green marketing practices relating to water 117 conservation and waste management were found not to be significantly related to customer satisfaction of hotel users. This is an indication that customers of hotels in Ghana are particularly concerned about green marketing practices relating to food quality, energy conservation, air quality, and noise quality. This result confirms the arguments made by other studies (Hsieh, 2012; Graci & Dodds, 2008; Chan & Ho, 2006) that green marketing practices and satisfaction are country specific and may be based on the contextual issues. The findings do not imply that water and waste management are not important green marketing practices which organisations must pursue. The third objective of the study is to examine the effects of demographic variables on green marketing practices and customer satisfaction. From the literature reviewed, there exist a number of arguments calling for the consideration of demographic variables such as age, gender, the level of education, and nationality on the relationship between green marketing and customer satisfaction. The study, therefore, conducted a test to determine the differences in groups on the relationship between the six green marketing practices and customer satisfaction. The findings suggest that there is a significant effect of some demographic variables on green marketing practices. However, it was found that some demographic variables did not result in any difference of perception of green marketing practices and customer satisfaction. With the age of respondents, the study found that there exist differences in perception of noise quality, and food quality and customer satisfaction among hotel users. With these green marketing practices, the younger respondents were found to be more likely to be satisfied with hotel services as a result of green marketing practices. 118 In relation to the effect of gender, the study found that gender had differences when it comes to food quality and customer satisfaction. This implies that gender differences are not really an issue when it comes to satisfaction of a hotel service as a result of green practices. This defeats arguments that had proposed that there is a difference between the responses of male and female to green marketing practices. In this study, however, it was found that male respondents are more likely to be affected by food quality than females. With the impact of nationality on the relationship between green marketing practices and customers, the study found that there exist differences among locals and foreigners in the relationship between food quality and customer satisfaction. The findings confirm that of other studies which posit that the nationality of a person may lead to differences in hotel preferences and satisfaction. The final issue under discussion in relation to the effect of demographic variables on the relationship between green marketing practices and customer satisfaction found that the level of education is a discriminator of the relationship between waste management and food quality and customer satisfaction. With almost all the findings, the hotel guests who have a high level of education are likely to attach more importance to green marketing practices of hotels and this is likely to increase their level of satisfaction with the services of the hotel. 6.2 Conclusions The conclusion of this study seeks to provide a snapshot of all the processes and approaches adopted by the researcher to achieve the study objectives. The discussions on whether the study 119 objectives and hypothesis were satisfied are crucial to determine the success or shortfalls of this study. In providing reflections of this study, the methodology, theories, and frameworks adopted by the researcher were reviewed. The methodology adopted by the researcher conforms to the assumptions underlying the study. The study adopted an explanatory design to establish the relationship between green marketing practices and customer satisfaction. To agree with the research approach, a quantitative study was employed using survey questionnaire as the major source of primary data collection. The use of a quantitative approach is justified as the study sought to test a set of formulated hypotheses. The use of the quantitative approach posed a challenge to such a study which has not received much empirical attention by researchers. A qualitative study could have allowed for an in-depth understanding of the green marketing practices of hotels in Ghana. However, this approach could lead to some challenges as the study sought to draw generalisations using existing models. The researcher, therefore, interviewed guest at hotels instead of interviewing some few managers of hotels to draw an insight of green marketing strategies by Ghanaian hotels. The study, therefore, uses green marketing practices identified from the literature. Also, using existing green marketing practices identified from other studies led to the development of a conceptual framework by the researcher. The lack of existing framework demands that the researcher develops a framework to guide the study. The development of the relationship was informed by limited studies and therefore this researcher is considered as very crucial to developing the research on the subject matter. The conceptual framework explains that six green marketing practices namely: waste management, air quality, noise pollution, food quality, energy 120 conservation, and water conservation are determinants of customer satisfaction of hotel guests. The conceptual framework shows the hypothesis that there is a significant relationship that exists between these green marketing practices and customer satisfaction. The conceptual framework also acknowledges the importance of demographic variables such as age, gender, nationality, and educational level of respondents. The findings of the study confirm some of the hypothesis that were proposed by the study. Out of the six hypotheses, four of them were supported. The green marketing practices of food quality, air quality, noise pollution, and energy conservation were found to be statistically significant with customer satisfaction of respondents. This implies that these four green marketing practices are very important in ensuring customers are satisfied with hotel services in Ghana. This study, therefore, advocates for the adoption of green marketing practices as this has an effect on customer satisfaction. This study has attempted to make some contributions to the literature on green marketing and customer satisfaction. The contributions to literature and future research are basically in the form of how green marketing practices can be used to contribute to customer satisfaction, and how practices could be developed considering the demographics of the target market. 6.3 Recommendations for Future Research The findings of this study on the green marketing practices and customer satisfaction in the hotel industry call for further studies on the subject matter in other areas of study. In an attempt to provide some plausible future directions, there is the need to highlight some issues during the literature review. It was observed that little or few studies have been done on the nexus between 121 green marketing and customer satisfaction and for that matter any marketing performance outcomes. This definitely calls for the discussion of green marketing in relation to how it improves marketing outcomes. There is the need to develop and build up literature in this regard in order to improve the theoretical, and conceptual base on this issue. From the findings of the study, the role of green marketing in contributing to marketing performance in the form of customer satisfaction cannot be underestimated. This calls for further studies on the effect of green marketing practices on other marketing outcomes such as service quality, customer retention, customer loyalty, sales and profitability, etc. This is crucial in resolving the scanty literature that exists. A similar study addressing the effect of green marketing practices and customer satisfaction could also be replicated in other industries such as the banking, insurance, telecommunication, education, manufacturing, real estate and other industries. It is believed that there is some form of green marketing issues in all major industries and therefore the impact of it must be understood. This will help the development of conceptual models to suit each industry as the green marketing issues might vary based on the industry features and standards. On methodological issues, there is the need to conduct more exploratory studies to identify fundamental green marketing issues in various industries. A qualitative study in this regard will help bring out views from various experts in these industries. The use of case studies of organisations operating in various industries will help describe the use of green marketing practices. This will help build up the model development of the concept. 122 6.4 Recommendations for Industry Practitioners The results of the study are indications for industry practitioners that the concentration of hotel process and management on green marketing initiatives have the potential of improving their general level of customer satisfaction. It could be seen that attempts to implement green marketing strategies may improve service delivery and customer satisfaction. Consumers are becoming environmentally conscious which implies that their satisfaction may be informed by the satisfaction of environmentally friendly practices of organisations. Hotels must, therefore, understand that consumers are looking for signs of responsibility of their service organisations in determining their level of satisfaction. From the findings, it is obvious there was general agreement on the fact that consumers consider green marketing practices when using a hotel facility. Consequently, management must focus on their noise levels, food quality, energy conservation, and air quality as these green marketing practices were found to significantly affect the satisfaction of guests in the hotels. In order to benefit from green marketing practices, it is recommended that hoteliers take a thorough assessment of their guest’s needs in order to incorporate them into their daily green practices operations without compromising on service quality. For instance, the findings of this study showed that guests were concerned about the food they eat in the hotels. Hoteliers can leverage on this finding by providing their guests with organic meals. Again, hotel managers can improve customer satisfaction by promoting their ecological practices to persuade green buying and ingesting behaviour. 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Business research methods: Cengage Learning. H4 B. Journal of Small Business Management, 44(2), 268-284. 157 APPENDIX Sample Questionnaire UNIVERSITY OF GHANA BUSINESS SCHOOL DEPARTMENT OF MARKETING AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP The researcher is an MPhil (Marketing) student from the University of Ghana Business School. She is conducting a research on “GREEN MARKETING PRACTICES AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN HOTELS IN GHANA’’. You are assured of strict confidentiality as your responses to items on this questionnaire will be used for academic purposes only. SECTION A: DEMOGRAPHICS Please tick where appropriate. 1. Gender of the respondent: 1). Male [ ] 2). Female [ ] 2. Age: 1). 18-30 [ ] 2). 31-40 [ ] 3). 41-50 [ ] 4). 51-60 [ ] 5). Above 60 [ ] 3. Please indicate your highest level of education? 1). JHS [ ] 2). SHS/A level 3). Tertiary [ ] 4. Please indicate your income level per month (GH₵/equivalent) 1). None [ ] 2). Below 1000 [ ] 3). 1001-3000 [ ] 4). 3001-5000 [ ] 5). Above 5000 [ ] 5. Please indicate your nationality: ……………………………………………. 158 SECTION B: GREEN MARKETING PRACTICES For the following sections, please indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with the following statements regarding the green marketing practices. Tick the appropriate number on the Likert Scale of 1 to 5; where 1= Strongly Disagree (SD), 2= Disagree (D), 3= Neutral (N), 4= Agree (A), 5= Strongly Agree (SA). WATER CONSERVATION SD D N A SA 1 This hotel has a deliberate strategy to conserve water. 2 This hotel reuses towels and bed linens in order to conserve water 3 This hotel uses treated wastewater in garden irrigation 4 This hotel uses water-smart landscapes to reduce the water needed for irrigation 5 This hotel makes use of low-flow toilets, faucets, sinks and showerheads FOOD AND BEVERAGE SD D N A SA 6 This hotel provides organic meals 7 This hotel provides natural fruit drinks 8 This hotel provides less fatty foods 9 This hotel provides adequate information about their food and beverage ENERGY CONSERVATION 10 This hotel uses automatic lighting sensors in corridors and lobby 11 This hotel uses sensors in the rooms to control lighting, air conditioning and other equipment 12 This hotel uses in-room TV and leaflets to inform guests in hotel about their green practices 13 This hotel use various means to encourage guests to consume less electricity 14 This hotel uses key-card systems that control lights 159 15 This hotel uses solar powered systems WASTE MANAGEMENT 16 This hotel provides waste bins in guests’ rooms 17 This hotel provides waste bins in the lobby 18 This hotel provides clear signage indicating toxic substances/danger zones 19 This hotel provides refillable soap and cream dispensers in their restroom 20 This hotel provides individually packaged pieces of soap in guests’ bathrooms AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT 23 This hotel has clear designation of smoking and non-smoking areas 24 This hotel has facilities monitoring and maintaining good air quality 25 This hotel has good ventilation in the rooms, lobby and restaurant NOISE POLLUTION MANAGEMENT 26 This hotel has acceptable level of noise 27 This hotel has clear directions to control noise levels 28 This hotel has the mechanism to maintain sound proof noise levels SECTION C: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION Base on your perception of the environmental commitment of this hotel, please indicate your level of satisfaction by ticking the appropriate box where 1= Strongly Disagree (SD), 2= Disagree (D), 3= Neutral (N), 4= Agree (A), 5= Strongly Agree (SA). CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SD D N A SA 29 I have a positive feeling staying in this hotel 30 I am happy staying in this hotel 31 I am satisfied staying in this hotel 160