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The Impact of ESG on Brand Trust and Word of Mouth in Food and Beverage Companies: Focusing on Jeju Island Tourists

Author

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  • Gum-Kwang Bae

    (Department of Foodservice Management, Dong-Eui University, Busan 47340, Republic of Korea)

  • Sang-Mook Lee

    (Department of Tourism Management, Jeju National University, Jeonju 63243, Republic of Korea)

  • Bui-Kim Luan

    (Hospitality & Tourism Institute, Duy Tan University, Da Nang 550000, Vietnam)

Abstract

This study conducted to verfiy the structural causal relationship between the ESG attributes of food and beverage companies, trust, and word of mouth (WOM) as perceived by consumers visiting Jeju Island. The present study used respondents who understand ESG management and selected a representative ESG management company in the food service business (e.g., Starbucks Reusable Cup or Samdasoo Unlabeled, etc.). A survey was requested from an online survey company, and total 521 participants were selected for the data analysis. The IBM 24.0 program and AMOS 22.0 program was employed to conduct statistic analysis. Present study demonstrated as follows. First, as a result of the hypothesis testing of the relationship between the three attributes of ESG and brand trust, the environmental factor (E) and the social factor (S) have a significant positive (+) effect on brand trust. Second, hypothesis testing on the relationship between the three attributes of ESG and the influence of WOM showed that environmental factors and social factors were critical antecedents of WOM. Next, verifying the hypothesis between brand trust and WOM, brand trust had a significant positive (+) effect on WOM. By verifying the hypotheses, the current study identified a critical relationship between the ESG management attributes of food and beverage companies and customers’ brand trust and WOM. These founding showed differences in the variables that directly affect brand trust and WOM among the ESG attributes recognized by tourists in Jeju Island about Jeju-based food and beverage companies practicing ESG management. Furthermore, it was confirmed that the value formed by these food and beverage companies’ ESG management activities could directly affect consumers’ brand trust and WOM intentions. Hence, the study intends to expand the range of ESG-related academic views and suggest meaningful marketing implications for various food and beverage companies that want to practice ESG management.

Suggested Citation

  • Gum-Kwang Bae & Sang-Mook Lee & Bui-Kim Luan, 2023. "The Impact of ESG on Brand Trust and Word of Mouth in Food and Beverage Companies: Focusing on Jeju Island Tourists," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-14, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:3:p:2348-:d:1048574
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Ding, Jiantao & Yin, Yingkai & Kuang, Jinsong & Ding, Dezhi & Madsen, Dag.Øivind & Yang, Kunyu, 2024. "The impact of enterprise digital transformation on financial mismatch: Empirical evidence from listed companies in China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    2. Yingyu Li & Heqing Wang, 2024. "Environmental, Social and Governance Performance on Brand Value in the Context of “Dual Carbon”: The Mediating Effect of R&D Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-15, November.
    3. Jangwoo Kim & Euntack Im & Gwangyong Gim, 2025. "The Impact of ESG Management by Automobile Companies on Consumer Purchase Intention," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-32, September.
    4. Pan-Ting Song & Batsuuri Oyunbazar & Tae-Won Kang, 2024. "The Impact of Agricultural Food Retailers’ ESG Activities on Purchase Intention: The Mediating Effect of Consumer ESG Perception," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-16, September.
    5. Heekyun Oh, 2024. "The Moderating Role of ESG Administration on the Relationship between Tourism Activities and Carbon Emissions: A Case Study of Basic Local Governments in South Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-26, June.

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