Building resilient ESG frameworks against data breaches in the hospitality industry

Purpose – This study aims to explore employees’ emotional reactions and behavioral responses following data breaches, as well as the potential boundary conditions. Specifically, the study examines the relationships between threat susceptibility, psychological contract violation, pro-company and pro-customer behaviors. The moderating roles of employee–company identification and customer-based perspective taking are further explored. Design/methodology/approach – This study implements a mixed-methods research approach consisting of three studies. Study 1 uses a qualitative method to investigate the reasons, emotions and behaviors related to data breaches. Study 2 uses an experimental design to examine the primary relationship between threat susceptibility and psychological contract violation. Study 3 applies partial least squares structural equation modeling to quantitatively validate employees’ perceptions and behaviors regarding data breaches. Findings – Employees recognize the importance of corporate digital responsibility (CDR) in ethical data usage. Threat susceptibility can influence psychological contract violation, which in turn affects employees’ unethical pro-organizational behavior and customer-oriented deviance. Customer-based perspective-taking and employee-company identification play moderating roles in the respective behavioral paths. Originality/value – This study contributes to the literature by enhancing the understanding of CDR through empirical insights. This study extends the understanding of CDR within data breaches and highlights its importance in the hospitality industry, offering a platform to explore employee responses to data breaches. Additionally, we uncover how effective corporate governance within the environment, social and governance (ESG) framework can mitigate the negative impacts of data breaches, emphasizing the need to focus on governance issues. Finally, this study extends attribution and social exchange theories within the CDR and ESG frameworks to explain how individuals assess threats and coping strategies related to data breaches, providing insights into employee decision-making.