Drivers and barriers of corporate social responsibility in the tourism industry: The case of Malawi

ABSTRACT

In developing countries, corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes help in uplifting local communities by complementing governments’ efforts in providing public services in areas such as education, health, environment and security. But in the tourism industry, CSR has also been closely linked to responsible tourism in which tourism operators’ focus on protecting resources that attract tourists for business sustainability. This paper examines the drivers and barriers of CSR adoption in the tourism industry in Malawi. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and thematically analysed. The study reveals that the major drivers of CSR in the tourism industry in Malawi are community expectations, management values and commitment, cost reduction, natural and cultural resource management, competitive advantage and company size. The barriers to CSR adoption include lack of resources, lack of clear CSR policy and government support, lack of coordination, mismanagement of CSR resources by communities and lack of awareness.     

Investment challenges in the hotel industry in Kigali,Rwanda: Hotel managers' perspectives

Developing countries today compete to attract foreign direct investment to their local hotel industry. Many have therefore already changed their policies on foreign investment in order to compete effectively. Recovering from the 1990s genocide, the Rwandan Government has created an environment conducive to investment, to attract both local and foreign investment finance. This paper discusses the tourism investment policy context in Rwanda. It describes a survey of Kigali hotel managers' perceptions and opinions on challenges for investment in the country's hotel industry. The survey found that the perceived weaknesses of investing in the hotel sector are closely related to problems faced by the Rwandan tourism sector in general, such as the perception that Rwanda is not a safe tourism destination, the lack of skilled labour in tourism services, the lack of finances in the form of loans to potential investors and the lack of adequate tourism infrastructure.     

Increasing employability in the emerging tourism sector in Mozambique: Results of a qualitative study

Mozambique’s tourism sector could play a key role in the country’s socio-economic development, especially in the region of Cabo Delgado where the demand for tourist services is expected to increase. Nonetheless, several constraints (e.g. the lack of adequate training) are hindering the capacity of local people to take full advantage of this opportunity. Qualitative research has been performed in order to align vocational training programmes with the needs of the emerging tourism sector. Local and foreign key informants were interviewed in order to gain a better understanding of training needs and to gain insights into developing training programmes that can enhance local people’s employability. The main findings highlight the lack of symbolisation of tourism and its correlates from local communities. Therefore, rather than just delivering technical skills, training programmes should also promote a ‘culture of tourism’ and a more favourable attitude towards ‘working in the tourism sector’.     

A remodelled approach to measuring the social impact of tourism in a developing country

Residents living in communities with tourism activities form a vital part of the tourism industry; without their support, the industry will likely fail. It is the understanding of the Social Exchange Theory that residents should receive a form of physical award for accepting visitors into their environment, however, with the case of South Africa, there are various factors that inhibit the flow of such benefits. Regardless, the residents remain supportive. It was therefore determined that the intangible social impacts of tourism also play a vital role in fostering community support. To better manage both the tangible and intangible social impact perceptions, a framework was successfully developed by means of structural equation modelling (SEM). This novel framework may aid tourism managers to predict and strategically manage the social impact perceptions of tourism in a developing country such as South Africa in order to foster the vital community support for this industry.

Abbreviations: SEM: Structural equation modelling     

Catastrophic Shocks and Capital Markets: A Comparative Analysis by Disaster and Sector

Abstract

This paper provides an analysis of the impact of natural, industrial and terrorist disasters on the Australian capital market using the Box and Tiao intervention analysis and the data on daily returns in the following 10 market sectors: consumer discretionary, consumer staples, energy, financial, healthcare, industrial, information technology, materials, telecommunication services and utilities. Inter alia, it was found that the shocks provided by natural disasters have an influence on market sector returns, depending upon the sector in question. The sectors most sensitive to disasters of any type are the consumer discretionary, financial services and materials sectors while the most significant single event during the past 8 years would appear to be the September 11 terrorist attack, at least in terms of its impact upon the capital market.     

新生代技术工人何以铿锵有力？——可雇佣能力对其角色外绩效的影响

新生代技术工人是中国先进制造业领域的中坚力量。基于社会认知理论,以新生代技术工人为研究对象,探究其可雇佣能力与组织公民行为之间的关系。研究发现：新生代技术工人的可雇佣能力对组织公民行为有显著正向影响;工作投入调节可雇佣能力与OCB-I之间的关系,即当新生代技术工人的工作投入越高时,可雇佣能力与OCB-I的正向关系越强;工作投入不能显著调节可雇佣能力与OCB-O的关系。     

Employment quality index for the South African labour market

ABSTRACT

While the South African government specifically set targets on job creation in its numerous economic strategies since the economic transition, various local studies examined the levels and trends in labour force, employment and unemployment to evaluate if these targets were met. However, the quality of employment has not been thoroughly examined. This is the first local study that fills the existing research gap by deriving a composite, multidimensional employment quality index by taking 18 indicators from seven dimensions into consideration: wage, work hours and flexibility, employment security, income security, social benefits, skills and participation. Using the 2010–16 Quarterly Labour Force Survey data, the empirical findings indicated that highly educated, white male workers aged at least 35 years, who lived in urban areas of the Western Cape and Gauteng provinces, and were involved in high skilled occupations in the formal, public sector enjoyed significantly better employment quality.     

Asian Financial Crisis and the Evolution of Korean Banks Efficiency: A DEA Approach

Abstract

In the mid-1990s, the East Asian countries experienced severe financial crisis that were followed by deep economic downturns. A variety of methodologies have been used to understand the nature of the Asian financial crisis. However, the impact of the 1997 Asian financial crisis on the efficiency of the financial industry has yet to be critically examined. By employing the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach the present study attempts to examine for the first time the impact of the 1997 Asian financial crisis on the efficiency of the Korean banking sector. The study focuses on three major approaches, namely, intermediation, value added, and operating approaches. The results clearly bring forth the high degree of inefficiency in the Korean banking sector, particularly a year after the Asian financial crisis. We find that the Korean banking sector has consistently exhibit higher technical efficiency levels under value added approach, while technical efficiency seems to be lowest under intermediation approach.     

Improving competitiveness. Critical success factors for tourism development

For a variety of reasons an increasing number of local authorities and other agencies have turned to tourism as a means of economic development. To date, however, the level of activity among policy makers has not been matched by research that might inform their deliberations. Although the importance of demand-related issues — such as the promotion of particular destinations — is recognised, this paper shifts the focus to the neglected issue of sector supply. It argues that if tourism is to contribute to economic development that is sustainable, private — and public-sector facilities (such as attractions or hotels) must be nationally — and often internationally — competitive. The paper proposes a model for understanding the competitiveness of organisations in the sector and reports the findings of its application in a case study of east and south-east London.     

Tourism impact,distribution and development: The spatial structure of tourism in the Western Cape province of South Africa

The structural dimensions of a country's tourism sector, and in particular the spatial structure of tourism production and consumption, relate closely to the nature and extent of the impact that tourism can have. This article examines the spatial characteristics of tourism in the Western Cape province, one of South Africa's foremost international tourist regions, and where its government seeks to use tourism as an instrument of development and socio-economic transformation. To understand how this could be effected it is necessary to understand the spatial distributional effects of tourism, and the underlying reasons for it. To this end the article examines the spatial structure of the provincial accommodation sector as evidenced in patterns of accommodation supply and tourist usage (demand); and trends in the nature, direction and distribution of public and private-sector tourism investments. The central argument is that tourism is geographically focused, with tourist activities concentrated in a few locales and sub-regions. This follows the general demographic and economic contours of the province. Yet trends in capital investments tend to reinforce the spatial concentration of tourism. Attempts by the government to spread tourism's benefits have not been too successful due to institutional and capacity deficiencies. Greater emphasis should be placed on developing domestic tourism.     

The Influence of Corporate Social Responsibility Measures on Investors' Judgments when Integrated in a Financial Report versus Presented in a Separate Report

This study examines the effect on investors' judgments of corporate social responsibility (CSR) measures when integrated with financial information in a single report versus when presented in a separate CSR report. Advocates for integrated reports argue that CSR information will be perceived as more relevant and have a greater impact on users when observed in an integrated report. However, we provide experimental evidence that CSR measures have greater influence on investors' judgments when investors observe the CSR information and financial information depicted in separate reports. We also provide evidence that this greater influence of CSR measures is caused by investors' evaluations taking on a “multidimensional perspective” that includes both a social responsibility and a financial dimension, which is triggered by observing the separate CSR report. Activating a social responsibility dimension elevates the perceived relevance of CSR measures, increasing their influence on investors' judgments. Our study contributes to practice by highlighting a potential unintended consequence of issuing integrated versus separate CSR reports: that investors incorporate CSR information less when it is integrated with financial information versus separately reported.     

Tourism in the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park

The Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park (GLTP) is a transboundary protected area that straddles the borders of Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe. The park's development was partly motivated by the ecological objective of re-establishing traditional migratory wildlife routes once fences between the three countries are dismantled. Besides biodiversity conservation benefits, the park may also provide a basis to generate revenue for conservation and local economic development through tourism. This paper describes current state and private sector tourism within the GLTP and planning initiatives that may promote responsible tourism, and describes the achievements by community-based tourism enterprises and public–private partnerships in generating economic, social and environmental benefits. The livelihoods of people living in the park are outlined in relation to government policies on land redistribution, resettlement and options for the future, and progress in biodiversity conservation and responsible nature-based tourism development within the GLTP over the past five years is evaluated.     

Provincial Development in China: Lessons from EU Regional Policy Experience

Abstract

This article evaluates and compares regional development in the Chinese provinces and in the regions of the European Union (EU) countries. Development efforts in southern Italy, northeast England and eastern Germany are reviewed along with EU, Community-wide regional development programmes. Equity concerns suggest promotion of regional policy, but the pursuit of maximum national economic growth would avoid it, since it sacrifices some economic growth. The impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) and domestic investments on individual Chinese provinces is compared with their impact in Europe. There is an implicit contrast between public sector regional development programs and more effective private foreign direct investments.     

Tourism and local economic development: The case of the Highlands Meander

Local economic development (LED) planning is of major policy importance in post-apartheid South Africa. Although issues surrounding LED have attracted considerable policy attention, one neglected theme has been the role of tourism as a lead sector for LED. The aim of this article is to examine the planning and workings of one tourism-led LED initiative in South Africa. The case study is that of the Highlands Meander in Mpumalanga province, where five towns are collaborating in their LED initiatives in order to promote the area's tourism products. A key finding is that this growing tourism initiative is currently not benefiting local black communities. Recommendations are offered for developing a pro-poor tourism initiative.     

国内外社会资本与旅游研究文献综述

社会资本包含集体社会资本和个体社会资本。通过对Elsevier，Springer link和CNKI等平台上的文献进行梳理发现：在旅游领域，社会资本理论研究主要集中于集体和个体社会资本对旅游发展影响以及旅游对目的地社会资本影响等方面，研究呈现出内容上集中于社会资本对旅游的影响，方法上以案例分析为主的特点，当前仍存在不足，并提出今后研究的趋势，为以旅游创新助力乡村振兴，关注特色小镇发展模式，促进文化旅游可持续等，更好地运用社会资本理论来解释和解决旅游活动中的现象和问题，促进旅游业可持续发展。     

Residents’ perception of tourism and their satisfaction: Evidence from Mount Kilimanjaro,Tanzania

This study aimed at assessing the influence of residents’ perception of socio-cultural, economic and environmental impacts of tourism on their overall satisfaction with tourism. The moderation effect of residents’ tourism economic dependency was also tested within these relationships. Using a structured questionnaire, data were collected from 160 residents living along the Mount Kilimanjaro climbing routes. Moderated multiple linear regression was used to test the hypotheses. The findings show that, generally, the residents are positive about the impacts of tourism in their areas, and that perceived economic and environmental impacts of tourism significantly influence residents’ overall satisfaction with tourism. However, tourism economic dependency appears not to moderate the influence of perceived economic, social-cultural, and environmental impacts on residents’ overall satisfaction with tourism. The study results offer implications to mountain destination managers on the use of perceived impacts of tourism in enhancing the residents’ overall satisfaction as a means to sustainable tourism.     

Would a single regional visa encourage tourist arrivals in southern Africa?

Although many studies have been done of factors impeding Africa's development as a tourism destination, few have focused on southern Africa, and to date none have questioned whether the current visa requirements affect the region's tourism industry. This paper investigates the potential impact of the so-called Univisa, a single visa for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region proposed by SADC and the Regional Tourism Organisation of Southern Africa. It examines the possible effect of visa requirements on a destination's accessibility and visitor numbers. Two surveys revealed that inbound and outbound tour operators were relatively positive about the benefits the proposed Univisa would bring, but were concerned about other factors hindering tourism development in the region. The study revealed the complexities of a regional visa and found that even though a regional visa might alleviate some problems, it cannot be seen as an answer to the slow development of tourism in this region.     

求职行为在大学生就业能力与求职结果之间的中介关系研究

通过对2570名高校毕业生的实证研究，考察了大学生就业能力与求职行为及求职结果之间的关系，并构建了三者之间复杂的结构模型。通过模型比较，得出结论：大学生就业能力既可以直接影响求职结果，也可以通过影响求职行为进而影响求职结果，即求职行为在大学生就业能力与求职结果之间充当部分中介关系。     

The changing nature of artisanal work and occupations: Important for understanding labour markets

ABSTRACT

The social and political conditions within which artisans are required to work have shifted globally. The South African policy concern is to train bigger quantities and improve artisanal skills quality, while simultaneously providing more opportunities for young, black and women artisans. A concern for academia is how this shifting milieu will impact on our understanding of artisanal work and occupations and what implications should this have for further research. Using the concept of occupational boundaries, we investigate, at a micro level, real and perceived change to work in three artisanal trades. The study shows that while some elements have changed, the division of labour reinforces the traditional scope of artisanal work in relation to other occupational groups. The findings reconfirm the complex relationship between changes to work and the demand for skills, and importantly highlight the sociology of work as a critical but undervalued dimension in labour market analysis.     

基于文化自觉理论的旅游产业和相关产业协作开发探讨

世界旅游产业的规模不断壮大,但旅游业在带来经济增长的同时产生很多文化和社会问题。文章认为,要深化这一问题的研究,不能单独发展旅游业,应在文化自觉的基础上,基于文化本身价值,结合当地的需求,有选择地进行多种产业的互补开发,尤其是文化创意产业,促进当地人的文化自觉和对传统文化的创新,形成良性循环,最终促进文化效益、社会效益、经济效益的协调发展。在实践经验和理论分析的基础上,本文试图构建多种产业发展和文化自觉良性循环的模型。