Sustainable Management and Human Resources Practices of Cruiseline Companies as Assessed by Seafarer Crews in Southern California, USA

Abstract

This study assessed the sustainable management and human resource practices of cruiseline companies as perceived by seafarer crews in Southern California, USA. Using descriptive, evaluative, comparative, and correlational designs, data were gathered through a validated questionnaire from 2,707 seafarer crew respondents drawn from a population of 16,030 seafaring staff. The instrument obtained an overall Cronbach’s alpha of .937. Frequency, percentage, weighted mean, standard deviation, Kruskal-Wallis test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Spearman’s correlation were used. Findings showed that the firms were commonly luxury, corporate-owned cruise lines operating for five to ten years and engaged mainly in short voyages. Respondents generally agreed that sustainable management and human resource practices were evident, although employee retention needed improvement. Pollution and overtourism ranked as the leading challenge. No significant differences were found when firmographic variables were considered, but sustainable management dimensions showed significant positive relationships with human resource practices. The study concludes that sustainability and human resource systems should be integrated to strengthen cruise operations and seafarer welfare.