Highlights This study examines the relationship between various pre-pandemic firm characteristics and stock price reactions to COVID-19. This study employed GEE for analyses using STATA 15.1. Restaurant firms with larger size, more leverage, more cash flows, less ROA, and more internationalization are more resilient to stock declines. Dividend, franchising, institutional ownership, and managerial ownership did not show a significant moderating effect. This study contributes to the literature by providing insights into drivers of restaurant firm’s stock returns during the COVID-19 shock.

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Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the moderating role of family involvement on the corporate social responsibility (CSR)-firm performance (FP) relationship in the US hospitality industry. Building on agency theory, this study examines how family ownership, management and board control influence the relationship between CSR and FP. Design/methodology/approach To examine the moderating effect of family ownership, family management and family board control, this study adopts the two-way fixed-effects model and performs a panel regression analysis with robust standard errors. The sample period spans 1994–2018 and 565 firm-year observations are included. Findings This study finds that the impact of CSR on FP is positively moderated by the extent of a firm’s family member involvement. In specific, all three aspects of corporate governance (i.e. ownership, management and board control) positively moderate the relationship between CSR and FP. Research limitations/implications Findings of this study yield several recommendations for hospitality managers, including shaping strategic decisions for implementing CSR, by providing a unique perspective that the involvement of founding family members can be helpful in enhancing firm value through CSR activities. Originality/value This study sheds light on the further understanding of the CSR-FP link in the hospitality literature. In addition, this study provides practical guidelines for hospitality firms in the context of CSR by revealing possible advantages of strengthened founding family involvement.

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Previous research regarding the costs and benefits of hotel room rate discounting during recessionary times has produced mixed results and recommendations. However, it has become clear that virtually all hotels offer discounted room rates during economic recessions, regardless of the conclusions of research studies, and that includes the recession that began in 2020. Media reports have indicated that certain rogue hotels are quick to offer discounted room rates during the early months of recessions, and therefore, operators of other hotels in their competitive set feel compelled to follow the lead, perhaps regretfully. This study found that while virtually all hotels offered discounted room rates during the recession of 2008 and 2009, there was variability in discounting during the early months of the recession. As a result, we sought to explore recessionary variability of room rate discounting, and to provide an empirical, nuanced perspective regarding the effectiveness of such discounting. Notably, we found the effectiveness of recessionary discounting varied depending on the class of hotel, with higher class establishments experiencing different outcomes from discounting than hotels categorized as relatively lower class properties.

Recently, many firms that have caused direct pollution to the environment have begun to think about the necessity of environmental management. As buildings have played an important role in environmental issues, the real estate industry can no longer ignore demands for environmental management. Research on environmental management has mainly focused on its financial implications. However, there has been no consensus in the literature about the relationship between environmental management and firm performance. By comparing portfolios of environmentally certified properties of 19 lodging Real Estate Investment Trusts, this study explores the relationship between environmental management and firm performance, while taking into account the moderating role of outside board of directors. The relationship between environmental management and firm performance appeared to have mixed results, but this study found a positive moderating effect of outside board of directors. This study provides new insights into the hospitality and the real estate literature from a corporate governance perspective.

Purpose The link between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate firm performance (CFP) has been extensively studied, but a significant research gap remains when considering potential mediating factors that can provide a more comprehensive and complete picture of the CSR-CFP link. Among the possible mediators, innovation is one of the most noteworthy factors, but previous studies have found inconsistent results between CSR and innovation in the service industry context. Existing studies have reported an insignificant or negative relationship between CSR and innovation in the service industry, including the hospitality industry. To clarify this controversy, this study aims to propose the positive mediating role of innovation to explain the CSR-CFP link in the hotel and casino industry. Design/methodology/approach To discover the relationship among CSR, innovation and CFP, a panel data analysis, the two-way fixed-effects model, is used with robust standard errors. Particularly, to examine the mediating role of innovation, this study conducts Sobel, Aroian and Goodman tests. The sample period is from 2000 to 2017, consisting of 342 firm-year observations. Findings With a sample of publicly traded US hotel and casino firms, this study confirms the mediating role of innovation and suggests a strategic direction of CSR, highlighting the importance of innovation in the hospitality industry. Practical implications This study presents an important piece of evidence regarding non-technological innovation and proposes a strategic direction of CSR in the hotel and casino industry to achieve competitive advantages. Originality/value Adopting a new measurement method of innovation using data envelopment analysis, this study serves as a reference for a better understanding of a role of innovation in the CSR-CFP link for hospitality scholars.