Understanding the role of food sustainability as a strategic value driver in hotel industry: an Italian perspective

The concept of business sustainability has received considerable attention from both practitioners and academicians in recent times and the concerns related to environmental protection have brought changes in consumer demands and behaviors (Mendleson and Polonsky, 1995; Ottman, 1992). In that context the supply-side of the tourism industry is making effort to adopt sustainable practices (Griffin and Delacey, 2003; Zimmer et al., 1994;) and, gradually, going green is believed to be an effective competitive frame in the hospitality industry (Han et al., 2009; Manaktola and Jauhari, 2007; Wolfe and Shanklin, 2001). As a result, a critical challenge for hotels is to gain a better understanding of current and potential customers ! desire and intention for green consumption (Han et al., 2009). Within that scenario, attempts have been made in investigating tourists ! perceptions of environmentally responsible practices implemented by tourism businesses (Andereck, 2009), in examining how responsible purchasing might influence tourism product purchasing (Chafe, 2007) and in exploring relationships between consumers ! sustainable purchasing practices and their related attitudes towards purchasing a tourist product (Pereira et al., 2012). Despite some research efforts have been focused in examining different sustainable practices such as recycling programs, architectural design and construction sensitive to both the local culture and environment, alternative energy usage (Griffin and Delacey, 2003; Mehta et al., 2002), the topic of food sustainability remains largely unexplored in hospitality, although the phenomenon seems to be highly relevant considering the experiential nature of the services and the products offered in the industry. This study aims to address this omission. In fact, food can play a vital role in delivering green services to customers (Jang et al., 2011). Generally the term green is alternatively known as eco-friendly, environmentally friendly or sustainable (Han et al, 2009; Pizam, 2009; Laroche et al, 2001) and, especially in the restaurant industry, the term green food has come to mean organic, local and sustainable food (LaVecchia, 2008), even though an accepted and organizational definition is currently missing (Jang et al., 2011). However, following LaVecchia (2008), it is safe to assume that the concept of green food embedded three main elements: organic farming, locally grown and environmental sustainability. Organic farming, as described in the EU regulation on organic production, entails ! significant restrictions in the use of fertilizers and pesticides which may have detrimental effects on the environment of result in the presence of residues in agricultural produce" (Roddy et al., 1994). In addition, according to the definition given by Hu et al. (2010), organic agriculture prohibits the use of toxic synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, irradiation, sewage sludge and genetic engineering. Despite no generally agreed or widely adopted definition, the locally grown food is seen to be produced and consumed within a particular geographical area, reducing the amount of pollution associated with transportation primarily by fossil fuels (Hu et al., 2010). Moreover, environmental sustainable food supports the long-term maintenance of ecosystems and agriculture for future generations (Hu et al., 2010) and it does not cause significant environmental damage (Jones et al., 2004). Starting from the previously mentioned all-embracing definition, this study aims to explore the impact of green food on consumers ! purchase attitudes toward a hotel stay and on consumers ! behavioural intentions (i.e.: intention to visit, intention to offer positive recommendations to others and willingness to pay a premium), focusing on an Italian perspective where the food is a relevant and worldwide famous culture! s element.