Abstract

The study herein describes the use of the extended theory of planned behavior (TPB), together with the additional variable of past behavior, to investigate the intentions of individuals to visit green hotels in Taiwan. The aims of the present study were threefold: i) to use the extended TPB to identify the factors that affect customers’ intentions to visit a green hotel; ii) to investigate the effect of past behavior on customers’ visiting intentions; and iii) to examine the mediating role of the variables of the TPB on the relationship between past behavior and the intention to visit a green hotel. Data collected from 250 face-to-face surveys confirmed the hypotheses of the present study and the findings of the current literature on this wider topic. The findings reveal that attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and frequency of past behavior, all positively affect the intention of a customer to visit a green hotel. In addition, the influence of the frequency of past behavior on the intention to visit a green hotel, was partially mediated by the variables of the TPB. The findings show that the modified TPB may be used to understand behavioral intention in the context of visiting a green hotel. Some wider implications were also derived, both from a theoretical point of view and from a practical one, for managers in the hospitality industry.

Key words: Green hotels, theory of planned behavior, attitude, subjective norms, behavioral intention, past behavior.