Shifting to Green: Insights from a SME Hotel’s Green Approach in China

Abstract

While dealing with environmental matters and issues brought out by the economic boom since 1980s is one of the permanent government concerns, China is in the process of rapid economic and political changes, so that institutional change appear to affect firm performance significantly (Leonidou et al. 2013; Wang 2007; Li 2004). The question then arises how firms, especially small- to medium-sized firms, become motivated (or react) to address different levels of legislation to go green in China. It is a question which is suggestive of an excellent research opportunity that may enrich the literature on this respect of green motivation. Given the lack of in-depth research on firms’ perception and motivation and actions of going green in Chinese hotel industry, a case study of a purposively selected small private-owned hotel was chosen built on an in-depth literature study. The conceptual framework used in this paper was developed from a theoretical interpretation of green motivation, stakeholders and marketing practices to explore Chinese firms’ green governance and greening activities (Song-Turner 2010). The advantage of this framework is that it provides a holistic means of examining firms’ internal green changes and associated marketing practices. It moves beyond what and why question to examine the how factors within an integrated framework with strategic implications for firms’ greening. This paper focuses on how components of the implementing green initiatives with the purpose of understanding the key influential stakeholders and motivations of a SME hotel going green and how it implement and approach green marketing in China. While findings from this case are consistent with a number of other studies on firms’ motivation for engaging in green, the case has also revealed some unique firm behaviours and practices in a booming, sustainable building-driven Chinese market. Several implications are considered in relation to environmental management practices.