To date, there is no such scale that may precisely measure mores of the customer base for the ecotourism industry. Therefore, a thematic analysis of literature has been conducted by examining various good quality research works on intrinsic characteristics eliciting pro-environmental actions. Based upon the thematic analysis, a new scale of measure has been proposed with the help of 17 scholars and 15 practitioners hailing from different countries by mutually agreed intended meanings and breadth of the theoretical concepts. The new scale has 4 dimensions comprising a pool of 32 items, which has been empirically validated through the data collected from 268 Malaysian tourists. The dimensions are: sense of obligation to care for the natural environment, sense of obligation to practice eco-friendly activities, sense of obligation to purchase eco-friendly products, and sense of obligation to support eco-friendly inventions. The theoretical and managerial implications together with research limitations have been discussed.
This study aims to contribute to the development of an extended theory of planned behavior to understand the indicators of consumer behavior. A conceptual framework highlighting four study constructs (i.e., personal norms, intention towards green hotels, environmental consciousness, and green consumer behavior) was tested using 394 general Malaysian lodging consumers. The findings indicate that to devise green branding strategies for the hotels, the managers must first consider how the environmental consciousness of consumers positively affects their personal norms and behavior towards green hotels. Second, consumers' personal norms and behavioral intention towards environmentally responsible lodging positively affect their green behavior. Third, Personal norms mediates the significant positive relationship between; environmental consciousness and behavioral intention towards environmentally responsible lodging of a consumer; and environmental consciousness and green consumer behavior. Lastly, behavioral intention towards environmentally responsible lodging mediates the significant positive relationship between a consumer's personal norms and green consumer behavior.