Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the Tourism Industry (Essay Sample)

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the Tourism Industry
(A Literature Review)
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Table of Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u 1.Chapter One: Introduction PAGEREF _Toc425187252 \h 32.Chapter Two: Literature Review PAGEREF _Toc425187253 \h 32.1 Introduction PAGEREF _Toc425187254 \h 32.2 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Defined PAGEREF _Toc425187255 \h 42.3 CSR in the Tourism Industry PAGEREF _Toc425187256 \h 62.3.1 Evolution of CSR in the Tourism Industry PAGEREF _Toc425187257 \h 62.3.2 Why Adopt CSR in Tourism Industry? PAGEREF _Toc425187258 \h 92.4 Aspects of CSR in the Tourism Industry PAGEREF _Toc425187259 \h 112.4.1 The Environmental Approach PAGEREF _Toc425187260 \h 122.4.2 The Social and Ethical Approach PAGEREF _Toc425187261 \h 132.5CSR Research in the Tourism Industry PAGEREF _Toc425187262 \h 132.6 Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc425187263 \h 14References PAGEREF _Toc425187264 \h 16
1 Chapter One: Introduction
[Insert Your Introduction Here]
2 Chapter Two: Literature Review
2.1 Introduction
With the ever increasing modernization especially in the recent years, there have emerged a number of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) issues in various parts of the world. With regard to this, therefore, it has become almost inevitable for the public policies around CSR to be established. Through such policies, the stakeholders in various industries can then adequately moderate such problems as environmental pollution, exhaustion of natural resources, and poor interactions with the society associated with CSR.
In view of the aforementioned concerns, this chapter, therefore, seeks to look into the various points that have been put into perspective by different scholars and researchers as regards Corporate Social Responsibility particularly in the tourism industry. Chronologically, the chapter first discusses these scholars and researchers’ views on their understanding of Corporate Social Responsibility. Secondly, the available literature on CSR in the tourism industry is discussed in which both the evolution and the reasons for the adoption of CSR in the tourism industry are comprehensively taken into perspective. The two main aspects of CSR in the tourism industry i.e. the environmental approach and the social and ethical approach are then discussed next considering the available research on the same. Finally, the chapter is concluded by looking into the variety of researches that have been carried out by different scholars and researchers on CSR in the tourism industry.
2.2 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Defined
In the modern era, Corporate Social Responsibility is a concept that cannot be ignored, especially by the players in the corporate world. CSR, as it is usually referred to, has been defined variously by different researchers in the corporate world, with many of the definitions pointing to the fact that CSR is mainly concerned with humanity.
According to Segerlund (2010), CSR is defined as the initiatives of a corporate entity in which the entity takes responsibility for the effects of its activities both on the environment and the social and ethical platforms. He explains how despite the utter importance of CSR in the society, some companies are increasingly becoming good at feigning their commitment to the subject matter merely for public relations (Segerlund, 2010). Spenceley (2008), on the other hand, defines CSR as the achievement of the current demands of business without overlooking the fact that future generations will still need to thrive. His definition is largely coined around the engagement in responsible business by the corporate entities (Spenceley, 2008).
In a slightly different perspective, Berle (1930) asserts that CSR may be defined as the incorporation of environmental and social concerns in the day to day business operations of the company (Berle, 1930). In this definition, CSR is taken to mean total consideration of the concerns of all the stakeholders in the corporate world with respect to a particular player. Another definition that is not very different from the above definition is coined by Carroll (1999). According to him, CSR refers to the practice in which business operations of a company takes into account the social as well as the environmental concerns of the various stakeholders (Carroll, 1999).
From his understanding, however, Clark (1916) believes that CSR goes beyond caring about the external stakeholders of a corporate entity. Instead, he brings in the idea of encompassing its internal concerns as well. He, therefore, defines CSR as the practice that involves merging the concerns of the internal operations of a company with the impacts of its operations both in the immediate external environment as well as in the extensive external environment (Clark, 1916). His definition of CSR attempts to bring out the fact that despite the external environment of a corporate entity being important, its internal operations and concerns are equally worth taking into account.
Dahlsrud (2006) also suggests that CSR can vividly be defined as the practice in which businesses are obligated to manage and reconstruct the impact they create on their surrounding environment in the course of their operations (Dahlsrud, 2006). He goes ahead to name suppliers, employees, shareholders, customers, and the entire community as being some of the main stakeholders whose interests have to be taken care of by the business enterprise as it carries out its operations. This definition is also echoed by Dodd (1931) who claims CSR refers to the concept in which all stakeholders in a business or corporate enterprise are fully considered with regards to the effects created by the operations of that corporate entity (Dodd, 1931).
In a bid to fine-tune the definition of CSR, Mullerat & Brennan (2011) postulated that it refers to the ethical practice that allows the community in which the business operates to provide the business with the permission to do business, and in return, the business enterprise behaves accordingly in a manner as to care about the community (Mullerat & Brennan, 2011). In this definition, they point out that prior to a business entity setting up a base in a particular location; permission has to be sought from the surrounding community. Thereafter, this business enterprise is expected to not only abide by the rules and regulations of the political environment, but also to the existing ethical and social obligations of doing business. Spenceley (2008) also agrees with this definition where he also defines CSR as the act of rewarding the permission granted by the community to a company to operate with the company’s ‘goodwill’ to that particular community (Dahlsrud, 2006).
2.3 CSR in the Tourism Industry
The tourism industry has experienced a significant growth and development and challenges alike in the recent years (ITB Convention Market Trends & Innovations., Conrady, & Buck, 2009). Various scholars and researchers in hospitality industry have attributed the challenges to several factors. Some of these challenges include the ever increasing world population, the destruction of the ozone layer of the atmosphere, environmental pollution, and degradation of soil, hunger and poverty. In view of this reality, therefore, sustainable tourism should be the way to go if indeed tourism industry is to be protected from imminent decline in the years to come (ITB Convention Market Trends & Innovations., Conrady, & Buck, 2009).
According to Spenceley (2008), sustainable tourism refers to the tourism that serves the interests of the present generation articulately without overlooking the fact that future generations are equally supposed to meet their own tourism needs in their lifetime (Spenceley, 2008). In other words, he implies that the attempts to ensure that tourism thrives in the present generation should not in any way compromise the ability of tourism to thrive in the future generations. This is where the concept of CSR in the tourism industry comes in. The popularity of this concept has been phenomenal in the recent years though its evolution has taken place gradually over time. Various reasons for adopting this concept especially in the tourism industry are also discussed herein as explained by various scholars and researchers in the hospitality industry.
2.3.1 Evolution of CSR in the Tourism Industry
CSR, particularly in the tourism industry, is a concept that has evolved over time. In an attempt to try and demystify this evolution, different scholars and experts in this field have come up with various suggestions and theories on how this idea has evolved over time. One such person is the trio Manente, Minghetti, & Mingotto (2014) in whose literature they clearly suggest that there exist three perspectives of the evolution of CSR, especially in the last three decades or so. First, they assert that the progressive perspective in which they claim the literature on CSR originated from a concept that was vague. They go ahead to mention that it is from this vague concept that the central constructs were made clear and the theory then tested (Carroll, 1999; Manente, Minghetti & Mingotto, 2014). The second perspective, according to them, was the ‘variegation’ perspective, where they discuss the obstacles along the way in the discovery of subsequent development in the CSR literature (Manente, Minghetti & Mingotto, 2014). Here, the scholars point an accusing finger to the progressive inclusion of new constructs. The final perspective, according to the trio, is the normative perspective. Here, they bring into perspective the fact that not so much progress in CSR is to be expected as a result of the character of the CSR literature that is inherently normative in nature (Manente, Minghetti & Mingotto, 2014).
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