Shaping pro-environmental behavior through CSR messaging: Insights from the norm activation model

Encouraging consumers to adopt environmentally responsible behaviors is essential for achieving sustainability goals in hospitality and tourism. Service providers can leverage the norm activation model (NAM) and anthropomorphism to activate consumers’ personal norms and motivate pro-environmental actions. While NAM has been widely applied to pro-environmental intentions in tourism and hospitality, two critical research gaps remain (i) the role of message framing valence and (ii) the influence of anthropomorphism in shaping personal norms. We conducted two experiments where participants were exposed to CSR messages framed based on positive or negative consequences and anthropomorphic vs. non-anthropomorphic depictions of the Earth. Results showed that message framing alone did not significantly influence personal norms or pro-environmental behaviors. However, when positive consequence framing was combined with anthropomorphism, the effectiveness of the messages significantly increased, leading to greater pro-environmental intentions. These findings suggest that hospitality players can enhance the impact of their CSR messages by incorporating anthropomorphism and emphasizing positive outcomes.