Environmental knowledge, unlearning, and performance in hospitality companies

Abstract

The Spanish hospitality industry is facing environmental challenges which require organisations and individuals to learn new skills and practices and create new environmental knowledge. Methodology / Approach This paper analyses the relationships between an unlearning context and environmental knowledge and tries to identify whether environmental knowledge impacts on business outcomes through an empirical study of 127 Spanish hospitality companies. Findings The results support the hypothesis that, in order to create environmental knowledge and hence foster the application of new environmental knowledge, companies need to provide and support an unlearning context. Research implications It is important that managers provide an appropriate unlearning context to support the openness of individuals to new ideas and environmental awareness. Practical implications This study provides hotel managers with a better understanding of the relationship between environmental knowledge and organizational outcomes and highlight that managers need to provide and support an unlearning context, which is customised and based on three frameworks: 1) the framework for examining the lens through which individuals view situations; 2) the framework for changing individual habits and 3) the framework for consolidating emergent understandings.

Environmental knowledge management: A long-term enabler of tourism development

“…A possible explanation for the significance of such an effect may be related to the fact that before environmental knowledge can be created specific assumptions should be established and shared. Failing to do so will result in only a few individuals within the organisation having access to such relevant knowledge resources, which in turn may lead to the under-utilisation of relevant knowledge or the utilisation of knowledge which is not relevant, both of which cases are likely to lead to a degradation of environmental knowledge (Cegarra-Navarro et al, 2013). One interpretation of this relationship is that through the knowledge management processes, a company can allow individuals to adjust their mental models and the nature of their assumptions to highlight some of the environmental issues and concerns that may have a direct effect on the entire company, its operation and results.…”

“…environmental routines and procedures) will change over time (Imran, Khorshed, & Narelle, 2014), requiring the modification of some knowledge structures (Aggeri, 1999;Brockhoff et al, 1999). Prior research has also shown that the effect of environmental initiatives on business performance can vary substantially in a turbulent context (Cegarra-Navarro et al, 2013), such as the Spanish hospitality sector during the period we have examined. In these circumstances it becomes necessary for hospitality companies to update their existing knowledge of environmental issues (Fraj, Matute, & Igu acel, 2015).…”

The Effect of Absorptive Capacity on Green Customer Capital under an Organizational Unlearning Context

“…But changes lead to OU [76,77]. Continuous change requires modifications not only to work routines but also to social practices [84]. Organizational change entails getting employees to adopt new behaviors that benefit the company [85].…”

“…In fact, one of the essential organizational strategies to implement change is effective communication (i.e., good knowledge management). Companies must heed environmental changes and implement effective knowledge management to adapt rapidly to the turbulent, dynamic environment [84].…”

Modèle théorique de projets de Green IS : une spécification des relations entre objectifs, compétences et culture environnementale

“…Une telle prise de conscience est rendue possible par le recours à des outils spécifiques, tels que des campagnes de communication ou des formations spécifiques (Marcati et al, 2008) . Par conséquent, la présence d'un fort contexte interne favorisant le changement d'attitude est essentielle pour les organisations ayant une culture environnementale (Cegarra-Navarro et al, 2013) . La mise en place d'un tel contexte permet de réorienter les valeurs, normes et comportements organisationnels en modifiant les structures cognitives (Nystrom & Starbuck, 1984), les modèles mentaux (Day & Nedungadi, 1994), la logique dominante (Bettis & Prahalad, 1995) et les hypothèses de base qui guident le comportement (Shaw & Perkins, 1991) .…”