Going green, going strong: maximising restaurant performance with sustainable practices

Abstract

The food and services sector contributes to global carbon emissions, impacting climate change. This study, organised in a developing country, aims to explore how restaurants in the hospitality industry can enhance their environmental and financial performance through corporate social responsibility (CSR), green orientation, green innovation and environmental strategies. Using partial least squares structural equation modelling, data from 283 restaurant employees were examined. The findings show that CSR and green orientation directly enrich both environmental and financial performance. Moreover, green innovation mediates the association with CSR, green orientation and performance outcomes, with the influence of green innovation on performance further moderated
by environmental strategies. These results show that incorporating CSR, green orientation, green innovation and environmental strategies can substantially benefit restaurant performance. This study offers constructive insights into the distinctive challenges and opportunities for sustainability in the food and services industry in the context of a developing country, where short-term economic pressures often dominate long-term sustainability goals.