Strategic corporate social responsibility in tourism and hospitality

Abstract

Tourism businesses engage in strategic corporate social responsibility (CSR) when they integrate responsible behaviours in their operational practices (Camilleri, 2015, 2019a; Carroll & Shabana, 2010; Porter &Kramer, 2006, 2011; Van Marrewijk, 2003; Vogel, 2005). Strategic CSR activities may usually improve their bottom line, whilst taking into account their legitimate stakeholders' interests (Garay & Font, 2012;Kang, Lee, & Huh, 2010). For instance, various hotels and restaurants are increasingly communicating about their business activities that are having an effect on their stakeholders, including their employees, patrons, guests, suppliers, local communities, the environment, regulatory authorities and the community at large. Their non-financial reports(CSR reports, sustainability reports, or integrated reports) can identify the operational practices that are satisfying their stakeholders' expectations (Inoue & Lee, 2011; Lantos, 2001). The hospitality businesses' strategic CSR behaviours can improve their employees' working conditions, as they provide: decent employment to locals and migrant workers, health and safety in their workplace environments, adequate compensation and recognition of all employees, ongoing training and development opportunities, work-life balance, and the like (Camilleri, 2016). More-over, they may address the environmental issues by: offering local, fresh, and sustainable food to their patrons; engaging in circular economy behaviours, reducing food waste; decreasing energy consumption, reducing the carbon footprint, and greenhouse emissions; using eco-responsible products, et cetera (Camilleri, 2019a, 2019b). Various hotel chains are stepping in their commitment for sustainability issues as they set their own policies to implement strategic CSR practices (Falck & Heblich, 2007; Garay & Font, 2012). Very often, they rely on the non-governmental organisations' regulatory instruments and tools like the Global Reporting Initiative's process and performance-oriented standards, or they align their practices with the Integrated Reporting<IR> framework (Camilleri, 2018).Many companies are increasingly recognising that there is a business case for CSR (Carroll & Shabana, 2010; Porter & Kramer, 2006).Their motivation behind their engagement in strategic CSR practices is to increase their profits and to create value to society(Camilleri, 2017; Lantos, 2001). However, the extant academic literature has yielded different findings on the relationships between the corporate social performance and their financial performance (Bird,Hall, Momentè, & Reggiani, 2007; Inoue & Lee, 2011; Kanget al., 2010; Kim & Pennington-Gray, 2017; Lee, Kim, & Ham, 2018;Orlitzky, Schmidt, & Rynes, 2003; Wang, 2014; Youn, Hua, &Lee, 2015). Relevant research has shown that companies did well by doing good (Falck & Heblich, 2007; Porter & Kramer, 2011). The businesses' laudable activities can help them build a positive brand image and reputation (Rhou, Singal, & Koh, 2016). Hence, there is scope for the hospitality businesses to communicate their CSR behaviours to their stakeholders. Their financial performance relies on the stake-holders' awareness of their social and environmental responsibility(Camilleri, 2016). Currently, there are still a few contributions, albeit a few exceptions, that have focused on strategic CSR practices within the hospitality industry. Therefore, this special issue will include but is not limited to the following topics:• Destination branding through sustainability marketing;• Ethical issues in hospitality;• Global issues, climate change, and the environmental awareness of hospitality businesses;• Mobilities and sustainable tourism destinations;• Policies and regulatory instruments on sustainable and responsible tourism; Responsible procurement practices within the hospitality industry;• Stakeholder engagement within the hospitality industry;• Strategic practices in agri-/eco- tourism;• Strategic practices for sustainable tourism;• Sustainability marketing;• Sustainability and mass destinations;• Sustainable and responsible tourism destinations;• The business case for responsible and sustainable tourism;• The circular economy and the hospitality industry;• The communication of responsible and sustainable tourism practices;• The consumer awareness of responsible and sustainable tourism products;• The corporate citizenship and sustainable practices of hospitality businesses;• The environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosures of hospitality businesses;• The marketing of sustainable destinations;• The planning and organisation of CSR activities of hospitality businesses;• The promotion of socially/environmentally responsible practices of hospitality businesses;• The promotion of the eco-tourism and sustainable practices;• The provision of education and training on responsible and sustain-able tourism practices;• The responsible corporate governance of hospitality businesses;• The responsible supply chain of hotels and restaurants;• The sustainability of niche tourism markets;• The use of eco labels by hospitality businesses;• The use of technologies to promote responsible and sustainable practices.