Corporate Green Strategy and Performance Outcomes in the Hotel Industry: Examining the Roles of Green Practices, Reporting Transparency, Certification, Brand Image, and Compliance Benefits

Despite growing research on corporate green strategies and their indicators, the effects of these strategies on hotels' brand image and regulatory compliance remain uncertain. This study used structural equations modeling (SEM) in SPSS AMOS to analyze survey data collected from 500 managerial and supervisory staff at 13 green‐rated lodging properties in Clearwater and St. Petersburg, Florida. It explored how corporate green strategies influence green indicators such as perceived green practice adoption, perceived green reporting transparency, and perceived green certification, and how green practice adoption, in turn, affects perceived green brand image and perceived regulatory compliance benefits. The results showed that corporate green strategies positively affected all green indicators, green reporting transparency influenced both green brand image and regulatory compliance benefits, and green brand image impacted regulatory compliance benefits. The study not only clarifies these relationships but also offers actionable insights for hotel managers to strategically bolster brand reputation and for policymakers to improve regulatory frameworks by illustrating the perceived efficacy of green strategies.