Effects of integrated marketing communication for sustainability and ecological knowledge: A cross-cultural approach in hospitality

Abstract

Sustainability challenges have been recognised as research priorities in marketing and services. This work seeks to observe how Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) for sustainability affects satisfaction and loyalty, both directly and indirectly, i.e., through the ecological knowledge of the guest. In addition, it attempts to analyse whether the sequence of modelled effects changes according to the country of origin, retaining two different nation/culture contexts: Spain and Ukraine. To test the hypotheses of the proposed theoretical model, the PLS- SEM technique was used based on 611 responses from consumers staying in hotels (254 in Ukraine and 357 in Spain). The results reveal IMC for sustainability exerts a positive impact on guest ecological knowledge, satisfaction, and loyalty. Finally, the country of origin of hotel guests and the cultural traits associated with it moderate the direct effects of IMC, ecological knowledge, and satisfaction on loyalty. These findings lead to important implications for the management of tourism companies.