Towards a better understanding of food raft entrepreneurs’ ecological behaviour

This study examines entrepreneurs’ ecological behaviours, with a focus on raft restaurants along the Mun River in Thailand. Building on protection-motivation theory, a structural model was developed with environmental awareness, green attitude, green product purchase intention, and ecological behaviour constructs, tested using data from 163 entrepreneurs. The aim of the study is to evaluate how environmental awareness, attitudes, and green product purchase intentions influence ecological behaviour, with specific objectives to assess the effects of awareness on attitudes, intentions, and behaviour; to examine the role of attitudes in shaping intentions and behaviours; and to evaluate whether purchase intentions translate into ecological behaviour. The results indicate that environmental awareness significantly and positively influences entrepreneurs’ green attitude, purchase intention, and ecological behaviour. Attitude significantly impacts upon purchase intention, while intention significantly impacts ecological behaviour. Interestingly, attitude does not directly influence ecological behaviour. The originality of this study lies in extending protection-motivation theory into the hospitality entrepreneurship domain, which has rarely been examined in this way. Unlike previous research that focuses on consumers or large operators, this study investigates small-scale, resource-constrained entrepreneurs in a developing country, thereby highlighting the intention-behaviour gap from a supply-side perspective. By situating the analysis in floating raft restaurants – a unique form of foodservice business facing distinct ecological and operational challenges – the study offers novel insights into sustainable entrepreneurship in niche tourism enterprises. The findings contribute theoretically to understanding ecological behaviour in hospitality, and practically to designing policies and training that encourage green practices among small foodservice entrepreneurs.