Social Responsibility and Airbnb Hosts: Voices from Northern Cyprus
Abstract
This study examined relevant linkages between motivational factors to be the owner of P2P accommodation (Airbnb host) and being active in pro-environmental and pro-social actions in life practices using a qualitative research method. Our study contributes to the literature associating the motivations of being an Airbnb host and being active in sustainability issues under the framework of moral values. Furthermore, the study analyzed whether an individual awareness of sustainability practices by Airbnb hosts influences their motivations for social responsibility actions in their hosting practices. The key themes followed were ‘Community Engagement and Pro-Social Practices’, ‘Environmental Consciousness and Pro-environmental Practices’, ‘Family Values on Moral Identity and Legal Compliance’, and ‘Restoration and Cultural Heritage’. Findings revealed that hosts stress the importance of the level of environmental consciousness that is gained from education in fostering social responsibility. Respondents believed that teaching cultural heritage, environmental awareness, and ethical values, especially to children, is crucial to building a responsible society. Additionally, participants expressed a sense of social responsibility through the restoration of idle and old houses, contributing to the preservation of cultural heritage and historical structures. As a context of the moral identity issue of respondent hosts, the influence of family values on the development of moral identity was highlighted. The findings of the study showed that hosts work in a team to implement necessary projects for the benefit of society. The study ends with a discussion of the findings and relevant suggestions for the industry.
References
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[37] Rezapouraghdam, H., Karatepe, O. M., and Enea, C. 2023. Sustainable recovery for people and the planet through spirituality-induced connectedness in the hospitality and tourism industry. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, 6(5): 1776-1795.
[38] Takala, T., and Pallab, P. 2000. Individual, collective and social responsibility of the firm. Business Ethics: A European Review, 9(2): 109-118. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8608.00180
[39] Tussyadiah, I. P., and Zach, F. J. 2015. Hotels vs. peer-to-peer accommodation rentals: Text analytics of consumer reviews in Portland, Oregon. Travel and Tourism Research Association: Advancing Tourism Research Globally, 2. DOI: http://dx.doi.org./10.2139/ssrn.2594985
[40] Tussyadiah, I. P., and Pesonen, J. 2016. Impacts of peer-to-peer accommodation use on travel patterns. Journal of Travel Research, 55(8): 1022-1040. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287515608505
[41] Zhang, H., Huiying, X., and Billy, B. 2022. Destination sustainability in the sharing economy: a conceptual framework applying the capital theory approach. Current Issues in Tourism, 25(13): 2109-2126. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2021.1937076
[42] Zhu, Y., Cheng, M., Wang, J., Ma, L., and Jiang, R. 2019. The construction of home feeling by Airbnb guests in the sharing economy: A semantics perspective. Annals of Tourism Research, 75: 308-321. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2018.12.013
[43] ***Airbnb. 2019- 2023. Newsroom: http://news.airbnb.com
[2] Aktürk, E. 2021. Ahlak-Benlik Bütünlüğü: Ahlaki Kimlik. Şarkiyat, 13(3): 1126-1143. DOI:https://doi.org/10.26791/sarkiat.1001576
[3] Alharahsheh, H., and A. Pius. 2020. A Review of Key Paradigms: Positivism vs Interpretivism. Global Academic Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 2(3): 39-43. DOI:https://doi.org/10.36348/gajhss.2020.v02i03.001
[4] Alipour, H., Rezapouraghdam, H., and Akhshik, A. 2021. Heritage redemption and the curse of tourism: the case of world’s last inhabited troglodyte village. Tourism Planning & Development, 18(1): 68-85.
[5] Akhshik, A., Rezapouraghdam, H., and Ramkissoon, H. 2022. Industrialization of nature in the time of complexity unawareness: The case of Chitgar Lake, Iran. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research, 46(3): 583-606.
[6] Altinay, L., and Taheri, B. 2019. Emerging Themes and Theories in the Sharing Economy: A Critical Note for Hospitality and Tourism. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 31(1): 180-193. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-02-2018-0171
[7] Barnes, S. J., and Kirshner, S. N. 2021. Understanding the Impact of Host Facial Characteristics on Airbnb Pricing: Integrating Facial Image Analytics into Tourism Research. Tourism Management, 83: 104235. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2020.104235
[8] Belk, R. 2014. You Are What You Can Access: Sharing and Collaborative Consumption Online. Journal of Business Research, 67(8): 1595-1600. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2013.10.001
[9] Campbell, S. G. 2020. Purposive sampling: complex or simple? Research case examples. Journal of Research in Nursing, 25(8): 652-661. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1744987120927206
[10] Carroll, A. B., and Shabana, K. M. 2010. The business case for corporate social responsibility: A review of concepts, research and practice. International Journal of Management Reviews, 12(1): 85-105. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2370.2009.00275.x
[11] Cheng, M., and Zhang, G. 2019. When Western hosts meet Eastern guests: Airbnb hosts' experience with Chinese outbound tourists. Annals of Tourism Research, 75: 288-303. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2019.02.006
[12] Cheng, M. 2016. Sharing economy: A review and agenda for future research. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 57: 60-70. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2016.06.003
[13] Cheng, M., and Foley, C. 2018. The sharing economy and digital discrimination: The case of Airbnb. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 70: 95–98. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2017.11.002
[14] Chuah, S. H. W., S. W., Sujanto, R. Y., and Sulistiawan, J. 2022. What is holding customers back? Assessing the moderating roles of personal and social norms on CSR’S routes to Airbnb repurchase intention in the COVID-19 era. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 50: 67-82. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2021.12.007
[15] Corten, R., Belk, R., Eckhardt, G., and Bardhi, F. 2019. Handbook of The Sharing Economy. Edward Elgar Publishing. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781788110549
[16] Ding, K., Niu, Y., and Choo, W. C. 2023. The evolution of Airbnb research: A systematic literature review using structural topic modeling. Heliyon. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e17090
[17] Dolnicar, S. 2021. Sharing economy and peer-to-peer accommodation–a perspective paper. Tourism Review, 76(1): 34-37. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-05-2019-0197
[18] Etikan, I. 2016. Comparison of convenience sampling and purposive sampling. American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Statistics, 5(1): 1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajtas.20160501.11
[19] Farmaki, A. 2019. Escaping loneliness through Airbnb host-guest interactions. Tourism Management, 74: 331-333. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2019.04.006
[20] Farmaki, A., Stergiou, D., and Kaniadakis, D. 2022. Self-perceptions of Airbnb hosts’ responsibility: a moral identity perspective. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 30(5): 983-1003. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2019.1707216
[21] Farmaki, A., and Kladou, S. 2020. Why do Airbnb hosts discriminate? Examining the sources and manifestations of discrimination in host practice. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 42: 181-189. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2020.01.005
[22] Filiz, B., and Demirhan, G. 2018. Development and Examination of Personal and Social Responsibility Behaviors Scale. Journal of Measurement and Evaluation in Education and Psychology, 9(1): 1-16. DOI:https://doi.org/10.21031/epod.332978
[23] Gössling, S., Larson, M., and Pumputis, A. 2021. Mutual Surveillance on Airbnb. Annals of Tourism Research, 91: 103314. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2021.103314
[24] Jia, F., Soucie, K., Alisat, S., Curtin, D., and Pratt. 2017. Are environmental issues moral issues? Moral identity in relation to protecting the natural world. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 52: 104-113. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2017.06.004
[25] Karahan, S., and Nergiz, H. G. 2021. P2P turizm faaliyetlerinde etik değerler: Airbnb örneği. Safran Kültür ve Turizm Araştırmaları Dergisi, 4(3): 305-325.
[26] Karatepe, O. M., Rezapouraghdam, H., Hassannia, R., Kim, T. T., and Enea, C. 2024. Tourism destination social responsibility and the moderating role of self-congruity. Tourism Review, 79(3): 568-584.
[27] Keogh, C., Kriz, A., Barnes, L., and Rosenberger III. 2022. Exploring destination engagement of sharing economy accommodation: case of Australian second-homes. Current Issues in Tourism, 25(21): 3425-3442. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2020.1769572
[28] Kuhzady, S., Seyfi, S., and Béal, L. 2022. Peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodation in the sharing economy: A review. Current Issues in Tourism, 25(19): 3115-3130. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2020.1786505
[29] Márquez, F.O.S., Danvila-Del Valle, I., and Serradell-López. E. 2022. Collective Social Responsibility: An extended three-dimensional model of Corporate Social Responsibility for contemporary society. Revista de Economía Pública, Social y Cooperativa, 2023, 107. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7203/CIRIEC-E.107.20611
[30] Measham, T. G., and Barnett, G. B. 2008. Environmental Volunteering: motivations, modes and outcomes. Australian Geographer, 39(4): 537-552. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00049180802419237
[31] Narvaez, D., and Lapsley, D. K. 2009. Moral identity, moral functioning, and the development of moral character. Psychology of Learning and Motivation, 50. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0079-7421(08)00408-8
[32] Nogalski, B., and Agnieszka, A. S. 2019. Networked Business Models in The Circular Economy. IGI Global.
[33] Nourafkan, N. J., Karatepe, O. M., and Rezapouraghdam, H. 2024. Corporate social responsibility, workplace spirituality and their effects on green promotive and prohibitive voice behaviors. Current Issues in Tourism, 27(7): 1142-1158.
[34] Reynolds, S. J., and Ceranic, T. L. 2007. The effects of moral judgment and moral identity on moral behavior: an empirical examination of the moral individual. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(6): 1610-1617. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.92.6.1610
[35] Stephany, Alex. 2015. The Business of Sharing: Making It in The New Sharing Economy. Springer
[36] Stets, J. E., and Carter, M. J. 2011. The moral self: Applying identity theory. Social Psychology Quarterly, 74(2): 192-215. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0190272511407621
[37] Rezapouraghdam, H., Karatepe, O. M., and Enea, C. 2023. Sustainable recovery for people and the planet through spirituality-induced connectedness in the hospitality and tourism industry. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Insights, 6(5): 1776-1795.
[38] Takala, T., and Pallab, P. 2000. Individual, collective and social responsibility of the firm. Business Ethics: A European Review, 9(2): 109-118. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8608.00180
[39] Tussyadiah, I. P., and Zach, F. J. 2015. Hotels vs. peer-to-peer accommodation rentals: Text analytics of consumer reviews in Portland, Oregon. Travel and Tourism Research Association: Advancing Tourism Research Globally, 2. DOI: http://dx.doi.org./10.2139/ssrn.2594985
[40] Tussyadiah, I. P., and Pesonen, J. 2016. Impacts of peer-to-peer accommodation use on travel patterns. Journal of Travel Research, 55(8): 1022-1040. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287515608505
[41] Zhang, H., Huiying, X., and Billy, B. 2022. Destination sustainability in the sharing economy: a conceptual framework applying the capital theory approach. Current Issues in Tourism, 25(13): 2109-2126. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2021.1937076
[42] Zhu, Y., Cheng, M., Wang, J., Ma, L., and Jiang, R. 2019. The construction of home feeling by Airbnb guests in the sharing economy: A semantics perspective. Annals of Tourism Research, 75: 308-321. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2018.12.013
[43] ***Airbnb. 2019- 2023. Newsroom: http://news.airbnb.com
Published
2024-05-31
How to Cite
BAYRAKTAR, Fetine; REZAPOURAGHDAM, Hamed.
Social Responsibility and Airbnb Hosts: Voices from Northern Cyprus.
Journal of Environmental Management and Tourism, [S.l.], v. 15, n. 2, p. 315 - 327, may 2024.
ISSN 2068-7729.
Available at: <https://journals.aserspublishing.eu/jemt/article/view/8415>. Date accessed: 26 dec. 2024.
doi: https://doi.org/10.14505/jemt.v15.2(74).07.
Section
Article
Copyright© 2024 The Author(s). Published by ASERS Publishing 2024. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of CC-BY 4.0 license.