Integrating Social Media-Driven Service Innovation and Sustainable Leadership: Advancing Sustainable Practices in Tourism and Hospitality

Muhammad Zada (), Gül Erkol Bayram (), Nicolás Contreras-Barraza, Kerem Kaptangil and Serkan Aylan
Additional contact information
Muhammad Zada: School of Economics and Management, Hanjiang Normal University, Shiyan 442000, China
Gül Erkol Bayram: Deparment of Tour Guiding, Tourism Faculty, Sinop University, Sinop 57000, Türkiye
Nicolás Contreras-Barraza: Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2340025, Chile
Kerem Kaptangil: Department of Recreation Management, Tourism Faculty, Sinop University, Sinop 57000, Türkiye
Serkan Aylan: Department of Tour Guiding, Faculty of Tourism, Selçuk University, Konya 42250, Türkiye

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 2, 1-25

Abstract: This study examines the impact of the digital era, particularly the increasing prevalence of social media, on sustainable tourism and hospitality development, and examines how the tourism and hospitality industry leverages social media to foster sustainability within the sector. However, researchers and policymakers have paid little attention to this aspect. Research on social media usage and sustainable tourism development still needs to be revised and made novel. Drawing on organizational learning theory and the resource-based view, this study examines the associations between social media usage and service innovations, aiming to develop sustainable tourism. Our research findings reveal a promising and positive relationship between social media usage and service innovations, which contributes to the sustainable development of tourism. Sustainable leadership also moderates this relationship. This research significantly contributes to the existing knowledge in the field, with implications for academia, researchers, and government entities focused on digitalization and sustainable development, supporting innovation, and preparing for future challenges.

Keywords: sustainable leadership; social media usage; sustainable development; tourism and hospitality; digitalization; service Innovations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/2/399/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/2/399/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:2:p:399-:d:1561799

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().