An examination of the links between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and its internal consequences

The purpose of this study is to examine the links between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and its internal consequencesusing the hotel employees' CSR perception, Quality of Working Life (QWL), affective commitment, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), and job performance. Although CSR has been widely studied from the perspective of employees, no previous study has related it to QWL in the field of hospitality research. Applying relevant theories, the study empirically substantiates the connection between the constructs and provides theoretical and practical implications. The results, drawn from data collected from hotel employees in upscale hotels in South Korea, show that hotel employees' CSR perception of the firm positively influences their QWL, affective commitment, and organizational citizenship behavior, which, in turn, enhance their job performance.     

The impact of CSR on relationship quality and relationship outcomes: A perspective of service employees

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has gained increasing attention over the past decade. While many studies examined an impact of CSR on consumers, only dearth of research is found that attempts to understand the impact of CSR on employees from the relationship marketing perspective. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of CSR in predicting relationship quality and relationship outcomes. The four dimensions of CSR used in the study include economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic aspects. Data were collected via survey from employees of franchised foodservice enterprises located in South Korea. The findings of the study show that not all dimensions of CSR have the same effect on relationship quality. While economic and philanthropic dimensions have a significant influence on organizational trust, only ethical dimension has a positive effect on job satisfaction. As expected, relationship quality has a significant impact on relationship outcomes.     

The impact of employee-oriented CSR on quality of life: Evidence from the hospitality industry

This paper builds on recent corporate social responsibility (CSR) literature and on stakeholder theory. Our aim is to analyze the direct and indirect effects of employee-oriented CSR on hotel workers' quality of life (QoL). Based on survey collected from a sample of hotel employees in the Canary Islands (Spain), relationships were empirically examined through partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). This study confirms that workers' perceptions of employee-oriented CSR positively and directly enhance their QoL. We found indirect positive effects through several mediators. Our results highlight the key role of working conditions, task significance, turnover intentions, and intrinsic quality on the relationship between employee-oriented CSR and QoL. Moreover, hotel service quality level is an antecedent of employee-oriented CSR. These findings advance the literature on CSR and reveal important managerial implications, especially in a post-pandemic scenario in which workers’ overall QoL is essential to ensure no one is left behind.     

Corporate social responsibility in international hotel chains and its effects on local employees: Scale development and empirical testing in China

This study aims to investigate the corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices of international hotel chains operating in China and their effects on local Chinese employees. As CSR practices vary across countries and contexts, this study developed a scale of CSR metrics, which was based on CSR reports published by international hotel chains in China and a comprehensive literature review. Subsequently, the proposed model, which depicts the relationships between CSR practices and local employee work metrics, was tested with a PLS-SEM. Multiple phases of qualitative and quantitative investigations of 2451 local Chinese employees of international hotel chains allowed for validating a formative construct of CSR with four dimensions: environment protection, employee wellness, business ethics, and customer wellness. The PLS-SEM results confirmed the significant effects of CSR practices of international hotel chains in China on local Chinese employee engagement, commitment, job satisfaction, and organizational citizenship behaviors. Theoretical and practical implications are presented.     

Corporate social responsibility in times of need: Community support during the COVID-19 pandemics

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the hotel sector has engaged in various corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives to show solidarity with local communities. Our research examines the impact of such initiatives on tourists' intentions to spread positive word-of-mouth (WOM) and their intentions to visit when the current pandemic ends. Our experimental results suggest community support in the form of providing free accommodation to homeless people increases tourists' intentions to spread positive WOM, bringing reputational benefits. But such initiatives reduce tourists’ intentions to visit, presenting potential business risks. Our results further suggest that community support in the form of providing free accommodation to medical professionals has little impact, as it shows no significant difference to control (no CSR initiatives).     

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and customer loyalty in the hotel industry: A cross-country study

The study examines the role of customer perceptions of CSR in improving customer loyalty by exploring its direct and mediated effects through service quality, customer satisfaction, corporate image and corporate reputation in a cross-country setting. Data from Pakistan, China, and Italy was collected through surveys to explore customers’ hotel experiences. The hypotheses were tested with SmartPLS-3. Findings for the overall sample revealed that CSR affected customer loyalty positively and significantly. Nonetheless, this relationship was insignificant in the samples from Pakistan and Italy, while it was found to be only partially significant in China. The findings also revealed a direct, positive and significant impact of CSR on service quality, customer satisfaction, corporate image and corporate reputation. The direct relationships among all these variables were also significant across samples. Customer satisfaction and corporate image were identified as significant mediators of the CSR-loyalty link, but service quality and corporate reputation were found insignificant.     

The impact of CSR satisfaction on destination loyalty: a study of MICE travelers in Thailand

The objectives of this research are firstly, to study the characteristics of CSR activities conducted for international business groups. Secondly, to analyze the factors that impact business travelers’ satisfaction with CSR activities, and thirdly, to analyze the influence of satisfaction with CSR activities on destination attachment and destination loyalty. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 127 business participants from three corporate meetings and one convention group. The results reveal the characteristics of CSR activities of corporate meetings and conventions in Thailand. Business travelers’ satisfaction with CSR activities is influenced by their personal altruistic attitudes and the efficacy of local service providers. Satisfaction with CSR activities has a direct impact on destination attachment and an indirect impact on destination loyalty. CSR activities could be used as tools to influence the revisit intention of corporate meeting and convention participants. A CSR activity during a business trip is a novel concept that can be utilized by destination management companies as well as national tourism organizations to develop satisfying tourism products.     

Personality profiles for hospitality employees: Impact on job performance and satisfaction

Prevailing hospitality research has demonstrated the impact of personality traits on various human resource outcomes. However, most studies on employee personality applied a construct-centered approach and treated each personality dimension as a separate construct. Although some psychologists have begun to study the combinations of various personality dimensions as overall individual profiles, much remains unknown about the generalizability of these personality profiles in hotel employees and how these profiles might affect individual work outcomes, including job performance and satisfaction. To address this literature gap and cross-validate the results, data from 1035 respondents was collected from two five-star hotels of Hong Kong with different backgrounds. Drawing on self-regulation theory and using the Latent Profile Analysis (LPA), we identified two major personality profiles from the respondents. Results showed that the personality profiles led to varying levels of job performance and satisfaction, depending on the employees’ frequency of contact with the hotel guests. Conceptual, methodological, and practical implications were discussed.     

The COVID-19 pandemic and organisational commitment of senior hotel managers

The COVID-19 pandemic will reduce the attractiveness of hospitality occupations. This particularly concerns senior management positions whose holders may substitute hospitality jobs with more secure and rewarding employment in other economic sectors. Organisational resilience of hospitality businesses, including their response to COVID-19, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices may, however, affect perceived job security of senior managers and, thus, influence their commitment to remain in their host organisations. This paper quantitatively tests the inter-linkages between the above variables on a sample of senior managers in hotels in Spain. It finds that the levels of organisational resilience and the extent of CSR practices reinforce perceived job security of managers which, in turn, determines their organisational commitment. Organisational response to COVID-19 affects perceived job security and enhances managers’ organisational commitment. To retain senior management teams in light of future disastrous events, hotels should, therefore, strengthen their organisational resilience and invest in CSR.     

Corporate social responsibility and systematic risk of restaurant firms: The moderating role of geographical diversification

Despite growing attention to corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the tourism literature, the relationship between CSR activities and systematic risk, one of the critical components in evaluating shareholder value, has been a topic of scarce examination. Further, the moderating role of geographical diversification on the link between CSR and systematic risk in the restaurant context has not been studied. Therefore, the current study explores these issues in the restaurant context based on the organizational theory and stakeholder theory. In addition, this study dichotomizes CSR activities into two dimensions, socially responsible activities (i.e., positive CSR) and socially irresponsible activities (i.e., negative CSR), to examine the separate effects of the two dimensions. A two-way fixed-effects model that effectively accounts for unobserved effects in a panel data set has been employed to test the proposed hypotheses.