Determinants of hospitality and tourism employees’ green behaviors: a deeper insight into the application of behavioral reasoning theory

Purpose The hospitality and tourism industry strives to enhance its corporate image to speed up recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since employees are service providers and practitioners of a company’s philosophy, it is vital to determine whether their work performance is conducive to corporate sustainability. This study investigated employees’ green behaviors in the hospitality and tourism industries using the behavioral reasoning theory (BRT). Design/methodology/approach This study performed fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) and necessary condition analysis (NCA) to evaluate the formation of employees’ approach intentions for green behaviors at work. Findings The fsQCA and NCA results revealed complex causal recipes for the formation of high-level and low-level employees’ approach intentions for green behaviors at work and predicted that there is no single necessary condition. Practical implications The research findings have significant managerial implications for enhancing employees’ approaches to green practices in the workplace and promoting the green performance of existing tourism and hotel products. Originality/value The research findings established a theoretical basis for industry managers to activate employees’ green behaviors, providing significant references for scholars to investigate green work performance in the hospitality and tourism industry.