Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 223-247). / Microfiche. / viii, 247 p. 29 cm

This study was approached with a desire to move forward the body of knowledge concerning environmental research as it pertains to the hospitality industry. The endeavor was undertaken with the belief that concern and awareness about the environment is not a passing fad but a fundamental shift in society. In order for any business to survive it must keep up with changes and meet the demands of consumers. The research efforts in this study were aimed at establishing the validity and reliability of a consumer behavior model specifically related to environmental behavior. The purpose of this dissertation was to evaluate a consumer's intention to stay in a hotel based on the environmental strategies used by that hotel. Hines (1984) developed a conceptual environmental consumer behavior model based on a meta-analysis of literature on environmentally responsible behavior. Hines' conceptual Model of Responsible Environmental Behavior utilized knowledge, abilities, attitudes, personal responsibility and locus of control to predict environmental behavior. The goal of this study was to empirically test an adapted version of Hines' Model of Responsible Environmental Behavior. This adapted version utilized knowledge, attitudes and perceived self-efficacy to predict consumers' intentions to purchase a night's stay in a hotel. Canonical correlation analysis was used to test the relationship between intention and each of the variables (knowledge, attitudes and perceived self-efficacy) in Hines' model. The multivariate test of significance revealed that each variable had a positive relationship to intention to purchase. The Hines' Model of Responsible Environmental Behavior was more useful in predicting consumers' intention to purchase a night's stay in a particular hotel than each variable individually. The model tested in this study has laid the foundation for developing a sound environmentally responsible consumer behavior model. The research findings suggest that a hotel implementing environmental strategies can increase business for that hotel. / Ph. D.

The negative impact of human activities on the Earth's ecosystems has gained more attention in the last few decades; in turn interest and scholarship in the area of environmental rhetoric has also grown. This case study provides an in-depth examination of outreach material generated by Tampa Bay Watch to determine if grassroots environmental organizations are using rhetorical appeals that recent scholarly literature argues are ineffective. Alternative rhetorical appeals are also examined for their persuasiveness. Using an open coding approach, the analysis finds that the organization used persuasive appeals which varied from those predicted by the literature, and that a combination of appeals produced better results that any one appeal alone. The group also varied its appeals based on the type of outreach. The study reveals that qualitative study of one organization's persuasive appeals renders more nuanced findings than have quantitative studies of multiple organizations or analyses of single rhetorical documents. / by Kimberly L. Estep. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.