Sustainable marketing and tourists' sustainable behavior in South Korea: The roles of emotional value, connectedness to nature, and green consumption values

With emotional value and connectedness to nature as mediators and green consumption value as a moderator, this study explores the effects of sustainable marketing practices in the hospitality industry on tourists' sustainable consumption behavior. Based on an integrated framework, we gathered the survey responses of 378 tourists from South Korea. Hypothesis testing was done using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results show that sustainable marketing practices have a positive direct and indirect impact on tourists' sustainable behavior through emotional value and connectedness to nature. Significant complementarity of mediation is found for both mediators. The moderating role of green consumption value is also pathway-specific: it significantly enhances the impact of connectedness to nature on behavior, but does not significantly change the influence of emotional value on behavior. The results demonstrate a culturally relevant process through which hotel sustainability initiatives influence pro-environmental tourism behavior. The study adds to the literature by making connections between sustainable marketing and environmental psychology and provides practical implications for hospitality managers in order to encourage sustainable tourist behavior.