From hotels' green responsibility to perceived brand authenticity: how green trust and environmental concern shape the relationship

Purpose Sustainability has been a hospitality priority for decades. Due to managerial understanding and consumer desire for sustainability, hotel management strategies increasingly include ecologically sustainable activities. Despite its relevance, there is little research on how hotels' environmental responsibility affects brand authenticity, especially in developing countries. Signaling theory is used to investigate how hotels' green responsibilities affect customer green trust (GT) and brand authenticity. The moderating influence of environmental concern (EC) was also examined. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative questionnaire survey was distributed to 268 people to capture their green hotel experiences. The relationships among the study variables were examined using covariance-based structural equation modeling. Findings The results demonstrate a substantial positive correlation between hotels' green responsibilities (GR) (perceived environmental performance, PEP, and green communication transparency, GCT) and GT and perceived brand authenticity (PBA). Thus, green hotels must transparently communicate their environmental contributions to customers by presenting their environmental performance indicators to build customer trust and brand authenticity. Additionally, the study demonstrates that GT mediates the relationship between GR and PBA. Moreover, EC significantly moderated the relationships examined. Enhanced EC substantially amplifies GR's benefits. Practical implications The study offers eco-friendly hotels practical implications on promoting environmental responsibility to maintain authenticity and long-term sustainability. Originality/value This study contributes originality by integrating signaling theory to explain how hotels' environmental responsibility initiatives serve as credible signals that enhance customers' perceptions of GT and brand authenticity – an approach rarely explored in developing country contexts.