Drawing on classical virtue ethics and positive psychology, this paper explores how the enactment of hospitality—through empathy, execution, and embrace—contributes to human flourishing. Central to this process is phronesis, or practical wisdom, which mediates the relationship between hospitality and flourishing. The research proposes two complementary pathways: a self-oriented path fostering contentment and self-connectedness, and an other-oriented path promoting prosocial behavior and civic engagement. By linking hospitality virtue to flourishing via phronesis, this study advances a holistic, ethically grounded framework for understanding hospitality's transformative potential.
AliM. B.QuaddusM.RabbaneeF. K.ShankaT. (2022). Community participation and quality of life in nature-based tourism: Exploring the antecedents and moderators. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 46(4), 630–661. https://doi.org/10.1177/1096348020980094
AnnasJ. (2011). Intelligent virtue. Oxford University Press.
5.
Aristotle. (2009). Nicomachean ethics (RossW. D.Trans.). Oxford University Press. (Original work published ca. 350 BCE)
6.
BatsonC. D.PowellA. A. (2003). Altruism and prosocial behavior. In MillonT.LernerM. (Eds.), Handbook of psychology: Personality and social psychology (Vol. 5, pp. 463–484). John Wiley & Sons.
7.
BauerJ. J.McAdamsD. P.PalsJ. L. (2008). Narrative identity and eudaimonic well-being. Journal of Happiness Studies, 9(1), 81–104. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-006-9021-6
8.
BaumsteigerR.SiegelJ. T. (2019). Measuring prosociality: The development of a prosocial behavioral intentions scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 101(3), 305–314. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223891.2017.1411918
9.
BaumeisterR. F.MuravenM.TiceD. M. (2000). Ego depletion: A resource model of volition, self-regulation, and controlled processing. Social cognition, 18(2), 130–150. https://doi.org/10.1521/soco.2000.18.2.130
10.
BerenbaumH. (2002). Varieties of joy-related pleasurable activities and feelings. Cognition and Emotion, 16(4), 473–494. https://doi.org/10.1080/0269993014000383
11.
BilgihanA.HanksL.LineN. D.ModyM. A. (2024). Rethinking the role of hospitality in society: The HOST model. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 36(7), 2256–2272. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-04-2023-0512
12.
BouzguendaI.AlalouchC.FavaN. (2019). Towards smart sustainable cities: A review of the role digital citizen participation could play in advancing social sustainability. Sustainable Cities and Society, 50, Article 101627. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2019.101627
13.
BrienzaJ. P.KungF. Y. H.SantosH. C.GrossmannI. (2021). Wise reasoning, intergroup positivity, and attitude polarization across contexts. Nature Communications, 12, Article 6121. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-23432-1
14.
BrightD. S.WinnB. A.KanovJ. (2014). Reconsidering virtue: Differences of perspective in virtue ethics and the positive social sciences. Journal of Business Ethics, 119(4), 445–460. https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/42921306?casa_token=vYLkpGcMSxcAAAAA:h2UNOazUNTXJOlnz-PN-QIIU43YrNeruUaHeir-0-41fNeViLtoJcdNSKEBB1dZ70dClIYFkdXhdvC0o_dw53NUcBPNFcFS13XaWFUYMIBpoWeLNZ7r8
15.
BrownA. G. M.HudsonL. B.ChuiK.MetayerN.Lebron-TorresN.SeguinR. A.FoltaS. C. (2017). Improving heart health among Black/African American women using civic engagement: A pilot study. BMC Public Health, 17, Article 112. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-016-3964-2
16.
CarrD. (2009). Educating the virtues: Essay on the philosophical psychology of moral development and education. Routledge.
17.
ChenY.Weziak-BialowolskaD.LeeM. T.BialowolskiP.McNeelyE.VanderWeeleT. J. (2022). Longitudinal associations between domains of flourishing. Scientific Reports, 12(1), Article 2740. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-06626-5
18.
ColmanA. M. (2015). A dictionary of psychology (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.
19.
ConwayT. D. (2014). The virtue of hospitality: Gülen’s understanding. In Cross-cultural dialogue on the virtues: The contribution of Fethullah Gülen (pp. 39–50). Springer International Publishing.
20.
CordaroD. T.BaiY.BradleyC. M.ZhuF.HanR.KeltnerD.ZhaoY. (2024). Contentment and self-acceptance: Wellbeing beyond happiness. Journal of Happiness Studies, 25(1), Article 15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-024-00707-w
21.
DarnellC.GullifordE.KristjanssonK.ParisP. (2019). Phronesis and the knowledge-action gap in moral psychology and moral education: A new synthesis?Human Development, 62(3), 101–129. https://doi.org/ 10.1159/000496136
22.
DienerE.WirtzD.TovW.Kim-PrietoC.ChoiD.OishiS.Biswas-DienerR. (2010). New well-being measures: Short scales to assess flourishing and positive and negative feelings. Social Indicators Research, 97(2), 143–156. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-009-9493-y
HackettR. D.WangG. (2012). Virtues and leadership: An integrating conceptual framework founded in Aristotelian and Confucian perspectives on virtues. Management Decision, 50(5), 868–899. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251741211227564
28.
HayhurstJ. G.HunterJ. A.RuffmanT. (2019). Encouraging flourishing following tragedy: The role of civic engagement in well-being and resilience. New Zealand Journal of Psychology, 48(1), 71–79.
29.
HoneL.JardenA.SchofieldG. (2014). Psychometric properties of the Flourishing Scale in a New Zealand sample. Social Indicators Research, 119(2), 1031–1045. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-013-0501-x
30.
HuppertF. A.SoT. T. C. (2013). Flourishing across Europe: Application of a new conceptual framework for defining well-being. Social Indicators Research, 110(3), 837–1246. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-011-9966-7
31.
HutaV.RyanR. M. (2010). Pursuing pleasure or virtue: The differential and overlapping well-being benefits of hedonic and eudaimonic motives. Journal of Happiness Studies, 11(6), 735–762. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-009-9171-4
32.
IsayevE. (2018). Hospitality: A timeless measure of who we are?Migration and Society: Advances in Research, 1(1), 7–21. https://doi.org/10.3167/arms.2018.010103
33.
JankowskiP. J.DavisD. E.PorterE.JessenM.MotznyC. L.RossK. V.OwenJ.SandageS. J.BellC. A. (2020). Virtue, flourishing, and positive psychology in psychotherapy: An overview and research prospectus. Psychotherapy, 57(3), 291–309. https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000272
34.
JesteD. V.LeeE. E.Di SommaS. (2019). The biology of wisdom: Perspectives of a neuroscientist. Frontiers in Psychology, 10(Dec.), Article 2639. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02639
35.
Joseph-MathewsS.BonnM. A.SnepengerD. (2009). Atmospherics and consumers’ symbolic interpretations of hedonic services. International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 3(3), 193–210. https://doi.org/10.1108/17506180910980519
KarimovaG.-S.HoffmannN. C.HeidbrinkL.HoffmannS. (2020). Virtue ethics between East and West in consumer research: Review, synthesis and directions for future research. Journal of Business Ethics, 165(2), 255–275. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-019-04321-6
39.
KeyesC. L. M. (2002). The mental health continuum: From languishing to flourishing in life. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 43(2), 207–222. https://doi.org/10.2307/3090197
40.
KimJ.MillimanJ.LucasA. (2020). Effects of CSR on employee retention via identification and quality-of-work-life. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 32(3), 1163–1179. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-06-2019-0573
KlussmanK.CurtinN.LangerJ.NicholsA. L. (2022). The importance of awareness, acceptance, and alignment with the self: A framework for understanding self-connection. Europe’s Journal of Psychology, 18(1), 120–131. https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.3707
43.
KlussmanK.LindemanM. I. H.NicholsA. L.LangerJ. (2021). Stress mindset and well-being: The indirect effect of self-connection. Journal of Theoretical Social Psychology, 5, 391–403. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts5.106
44.
KlussmanK.NicholsA. L.LangerJ. (2020). The role of self-connection in the relationship between mindfulness and meaning: A longitudinal examination. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, 12(3), 636–659. https://doi.org/10.1111/aphw.12200
45.
KraissJ. T.ten KloosterP. M.ChrispijnM.StevensA.DoornbosB.KupkaR. W.BohlmeijerE. T. (2023). A multicomponent positive psychology intervention for euthymic patients with bipolar disorder to improve mental well-being and personal recovery: A pragmatic randomized controlled trial. Bipolar Disorders, 25(8), 683–695. https://doi.org/10.1111/bdi.13313
46.
KristjánssonK. (2014). Phronesis and moral education: Treading beyond the truisms. Theory and Research in Education, 12(2), 151–171. https://doi.org/10.1177/1477878514530244
47.
KristjánssonK. (2021). Phronesis as a type of contextual integrative wisdom. Review of General Psychology, 25(3), 233–250. https://doi.org/10.1177/10892680211023063
48.
KristjánssonK. (2022). Collective phronesis in business ethics education and managerial practice: A neo-Aristotelian analysis. Journal of Business Ethics, 181(1), 41–56.
49.
LashleyC. (2015). Hospitality and hospitableness. Research in Hospitality Management, 5(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1080/22243534.2015.11828322
50.
LavalleeL. F.HatchP. M.MichalosA. C. (2007). Development of the Contentment with Life Assessment Scale (CLAS): Using daily life experiences to verify levels of self-reported life satisfaction. Social Indicators Research, 83, 201–244. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-006-9054-6
LevinasE. (1981). Otherwise than being or beyond essence (LingisA.Trans.). Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
53.
LineN. D.HanksL.NjeriM.ModyM. A. (2025). Expanding the domain of hospitality research: The hospitality virtue scale. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 37(6), 1944–1962. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-05-2024-0806
54.
LynchP.McIntoshA.LugosiP.Germann MolzJ.OngC.-E. (2021). Hospitality and society: Critical reflections on the theorizing of hospitality. Hospitality and Society, 11(3), 293–331. https://doi.org/10.1386/hosp_00044_1
55.
MacIntyreA. (2007). After virtue: A study in moral theory (3rd ed.). University of Notre Dame Press.
56.
MartelaF.RyanR. M. (2016). Prosocial behavior increases well-being and vitality even without contact with the beneficiary: Causal and behavioral evidence. Motivation and Emotion, 40(3), 351–357. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-016-9552-z
57.
MartelaF.StegerM. F. (2016). The three meanings of meaning in life: Distinguishing coherence, purpose, and significance. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 11(5), 531–545. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2015.1137623
58.
McManusS.GunnellD.CooperC.BebbingtonP. E.HowardL. M.BrughaT.JenkinsR.HassiotisA.WeichS.ApplebyL. (2019). Prevalence of non-suicidal self-harm and service contact in England, 2000–14: Repeated cross-sectional surveys of the general population. The Lancet Psychiatry, 6(7), 573–581. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(19)30188-9
59.
ModyM. (2023). Hospitality as the bridge: Advancing transformative service research towards human flourishing. The Service Industries Journal, 43(7–8), 423–453. https://doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2023.2197222
60.
MoraitouD.EfklidesA. (2012). The wise thinking and acting questionnaire: The cognitive facet of wisdom and its relation with memory, affect, and hope. Journal of Happiness Studies, 13, 849–873. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-011-9295-1
61.
NelsonS. K.LayousK.ColeS. W.LyubomirskyS. (2016). Do unto others or treat yourself? The effects of prosocial and self-focused behavior on psychological flourishing. Emotion, 16(6), 850–861. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000178
62.
NewsteadT.MacklinR.DawkinsS.MartinA. (2018). What is virtue? Advancing the conceptualization of virtue to inform positive organizational inquiry. Academy of Management Perspectives, 32(4), 443–457.
63.
O’ConnorD. (2005). Towards a new interpretation of “hospitality”. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 17(3), 267–271.
64.
Plato. (2004). The laws (T. J. Saunders, Trans.). Penguin Classics. (Original work published ca. 350 B.C.E.)
65.
Puchalska-WasylM. (2023). Wisdom predicts subjective well-being and mastery over time: A longitudinal study. Journal of Happiness Studies, 24(1), 51–67. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-023-00621-x
66.
RaheM.JansenP. (2023). A closer look at the relationships between aspects of connectedness and flourishing. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, Article 1137752. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1137752
67.
RiveraG. N.ChristyA. G.KimJ.VessM.HicksJ. A.SchlegelR. J. (2019). Understanding the relationship between perceived authenticity and well-being. Review of General Psychology, 23(1), 113–126. https://doi.org/10.1037/gpr0000161
68.
RyanR. M.DeciE. L. (2001). On happiness and human potentials: A review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Annual Review of Psychology, 52(1), 141–166. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.141
69.
SeligmanM. E. P. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. Simon & Schuster.
70.
SneedC.FairhurstA.WhaleyJ. (2019). Local foods purchasing in the farmers’ market. International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research, 33(4), 41–52. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21298/IJTHR.2019.4.33.4.41
71.
StephensC. L.ChristieI. C.FriedmanB. H. (2010). Autonomic specificity of basic emotions: Evidence from pattern classification and cluster analysis. Biological Psychology, 84(3), 463–473. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2010.03.014
72.
StevensonA. (Ed.). (2010). Oxford dictionary of English (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.
73.
TerzisG. N. (1994). Human flourishings: A psychological critique of virtue ethics. American Philosophical Quarterly, 31(4), 333–342.
74.
VanderWeeleT. J. (2017). On the promotion of human flourishing. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(31), 8148–8156. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1702996114
75.
VanderWeeleT. J.CaseB. W.ChenY.CowdenR. G.JohnsonB.LeeM. T.LomasT.LongK. G. (2023). Flourishing in critical dialogue. SSM-Mental Health, 3, 100172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmmh.2022.100172
76.
WallJ. (2003). Phronesis, poetics, and moral creativity. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, 6(3), 317–341.
77.
WattsR.KettnerH.GeertsD.GandyS.KartnerL.MertensL....RosemanL. (2022). The Watts Connectedness Scale: a new scale for measuring a sense of connectedness to self, others, and world. Psychopharmacology, 239(11), 3461–3483.https://doi.org/10.1177/0022167817709585
78.
WeinsteinN.RyanR. M. (2010). When helping helps: autonomous motivation for prosocial behavior and its influence on well-being for the helper and recipient. Journal of personality and social psychology, 98(2), 222. https://doi.org/ 10.1037/a0016984
79.
WijesingheG. (2012). Can hospitality workers engage in virtuous practice in a commercial context? A study of virtue ethics and virtues of commerce. In The heart of the good institution: Virtue ethics as a framework for responsible management (pp. 141–157). Springer Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5473-7_11
80.
WrightJ. C.WarrenM. T.SnowN. E. (2020). Understanding virtue: Theory and measurement. Oxford University Press.
