HOW DO DIRECT MANAGERIAL BEHAVIORS SHAPE EMPLOYEES¿ ENGAGEMENT IN PRO-ENVIRONMENTAL PRACTICES WITHIN HOSPITALITY ORGANIZATIONS, AND HOW IS THIS INFLUENCE PERCEIVED, INTERPRETED AND NEGOTIATED IN EVERYDAY WORK? A QUALITATIVE CASE STUDY OF HOTELS IN MOROCCO

Abstract

This study examines how managerial behaviors encourage employees’ engagement in pro-environmental practices within hospitality organizations. It focuses on how direct and operational managers translate environmental expectations into everyday work, how employees interpret these managerial actions, and how operational and organizational conditions shape their effects. The research adopts a qualitative, interpretive, multiple-case study design based on two hotels belonging to the same hospitality group in Morocco: Kenzi Tower Casablanca and Kenzi Rose Garden Marrakech. Fourteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with six operational managers and eight employees from Front Office, Housekeeping, Food & Beverage, and Maintenance. The data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. The findings show that managerial influence is conditional rather than automatic. Four interrelated processes were identified. Translation refers to converting broad sustainability objectives into concrete job-specific decisions. Compatibility work involves aligning environmental expectations with professional standards such as service quality, cleanliness, speed, and guest satisfaction. Situated credibility depends on managers demonstrating appropriate timing, fairness, and understanding of operational realities. Closing the feedback loop refers to ensuring that employee observations and suggestions lead to visible responses, which helps sustain voluntary initiative. The study also shows that direct managers operate within important organizational limits, including equipment, resources, guest expectations, performance pressures, and higher-level decisions. At Rose Garden, Travelife certification strengthened the visibility and formalization of sustainability practices but could also encourage procedural compliance when their practical meaning was not made clear. Overall, the study contributes a process-oriented understanding of managerial influence and suggests that hospitality organizations should make environmental expectations concrete, operationally compatible, and supported by visible organizational responses. Keywords: employee green behavior; managerial behavior; pro-environmental practices; hospitality management; employee engagement; qualitative case study.