Corporate social responsibility in the tourism industry: evidence from seasoned equity offerings

This study examines the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the tourism industry using seasoned equity offerings (SEOs) from 1992 to 2015. We show that tourism SEO issuers engaging in CSR activities experience less negative market reactions to SEO announcements. The findings also reveal that the negative reactions around SEO announcements are significantly lessened for tourism firms with better CSR performance in the context of high information asymmetry, because such activities serve as an ethical commitment to outside investors, and thus align the interests between SEO issuers and outside investors, which eventually mitigates negative market reactions to SEO announcements. Overall, these results indicate that tourism issuers with better CSR performance are able to reduce the agency costs and adverse selection problem for uninformed investors in the process of issuing SEOs.     

Motivations and barriers for corporate social responsibility reporting: Evidence from the airline industry

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become a popular topic, as related research saliently suggests that CSR reporting has positive impacts, including improving corporate reputation, achieving employee trust, and enhancing customers' satisfaction. Consequently, in the past few years, companies have increasingly begun to report their CSR initiative outcomes, while the majority struggles to adopt similar initiatives. The research presented herein investigates motivations and barriers for reporting CSR outcomes by providing evidence from airline companies to investigate this disparity. Data collected through survey and confirmatory interviews indicates that respondents believe that government is the most important reader (or customer) of CSR reports. Similar to other industries, CSR reporting's major motivations are related to reputation and brand value, employees' CSR awareness, communication with stakeholders, management systems, management culture, market share, and transparency with the government. An enhanced understanding of related barriers and motivators should assist policymakers and company executives in their strategic decision-making regarding CSR reporting, thereby contributing to advancement toward sustainability.     

Synergy of corporate social responsibility and service quality for airlines: The moderating role of carrier type

The potential exists for airlines' confronting challenges when providing high quality service while simultaneously adopting corporate social responsibility (CSR) in a cost efficient manner. This study explores synergistic effects of CSR and service quality on firms' performance in the U.S. airline industry. In particular, the examination involves synergistic effects according to types of air-carriers: low-cost carriers (LCCs) and full-service carriers (FSCs). Findings reveal: 1) a positive synergistic effect of service quality and CSR for FSCs, and 2) a negative synergistic effect of service quality and CSR for LCCs. These findings suggest that although improving service quality is apparently crucial, the improvement does not always increase firm performance when integrated with CSR activities. This study provides important implications for airline firms, suggesting efforts toward development and implementation of a strategy that can optimize competitive advantages.     

Coordination of a socially responsible supply chain using revenue sharing contract

This paper explores coordination of a corporate social responsible (CSR) manufacturer–retailer chain by considering two cases, CSR retailer and CSR manufacturer. In manufacturer-Stackelberg game setting revenue sharing (RS) contract is used to coordinate the channel. It is found that CSR retailer’s perfect welfare maximizing motive resolves channel conflict, otherwise RS contract coordinates the channel. Wholesale price of RS contract is higher than marginal production cost above a threshold of CSR in one case and is negative above a threshold of CSR in the other. Also, CSR manufacturer’s pure profit is negative above a threshold of CSR.     

Responsibilities,recession and the tourism sector: perspectives on CSR among low-fares airlines during the economic downturn in the UK

Responsibility has featured prominently in recent discussions about tourism governance. Nevertheless, research into corporate social responsibility (CSR) among travel and tourism businesses is at a relatively early stage. This paper reports on external stakeholders' perceptions of CSR among low-fares airlines (LFAs) in peripheral regions of the UK in late 2008; that is, during the current global economic downturn. LFAs, their business plans and their ability to contribute towards sustainable development have been the source of much public discourse and media scrutiny in the last decade. This paper does not set out to reopen that debate per se. Rather, it contributes to a deeper understanding of CSR in the tourism sector by arguing for a more nuanced approach to external stakeholders, one which is also informed by primary empirical research from qualitative sources, and which is conceptually informed by the latest thinking from other sectors of economic activity. Important inter-regional variations exist in external stakeholders' perceptions and valorisations of CSR, they are context-specific, and they are not static as their responses to the recent downturn reveal.     

A strategic analysis of incorporating CSR into managerial incentive design

A strategic analysis is conducted to incorporate corporate social responsibility (CSR) considerations into managerial incentive design in a duopoly where each firm comprises an owner and a manager. Consumer surplus is adopted to represent the firms’ CSR concerns and a CSR-related incentive is introduced to accommodate both profit and consumer surplus. Bertrand and Cournot competition modes are discussed with the firms’ products being complementary, independent, or substitutable. We first examine the equilibrium of CSR-related incentive design and, then, analyze how CSR-related incentives affect the firms’ profitability and CSR performance, measured by consumer surplus and social welfare.     

A green approach to the weight reduction of aircraft cabins

In response to the growing problems of climate change and global warming, airline companies, as members of the global village, are actively promoting energy-saving and carbon reducing measures, and are strictly controlling and managing greenhouse gases generated in the process of providing high-quality transportation services in an attempt to reduce environmental impacts. As environmental protection has become an indicator of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), this study integrates Activity-Based Costing (ABC) and the Theory of Constraints (TOC) and adopts a mathematical programming model in an attempt to provide the airline industry with a method to lower fuel consumption by reducing the weight of seats in passenger cabins. In order to contribute to environmental protection, future research could develop a variety of energy-saving and carbon reducing programs on the basis of this model.     

Corporate social responsibility disclosure: The case of international shipping

Based on practices and legislation in the shipping industry, we construct a corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure index for listed shipping companies. We use Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) techniques for Bayesian inference, and we estimate the marginal effects of firm characteristics on CSR disclosure for each firm. Our results show a positive relationship between CSR disclosure and financial performance for each firm in our international sample. Firm size, financial leverage, and ownership structure are also associated with CSR disclosure. Our findings suggest that a majority of listed shipping companies have integrated CSR practices into their strategic planning and operations.     

Evaluating corporate social responsibility of airlines using entropy weight and grey relation analysis

This paper applies entropy weight and grey relation analysis to evaluate corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance of eight Chinese major airlines. This paper intends to achieve two main aims. First, this study uses entropy to find the relative weights of performance measures of CSR. In so doing, we find that on-time performance, accident rate, flight frequency, growth of employees revenue, and employees revenue are relatively most important measures. Second, based on the results of entropy analysis, this study ranks the airlines in terms of CSR performance by grey relation analysis. This result shows that most of the larger state-controlled airlines perform better in performance of CSR. Furthermore, the private airline has made relatively large improvement in its CSR performance. In addition, the listed airlines are better than non-listed airlines in CSR performance.     

Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy in the Hotel Industry: Evidence from the Balearic Islands

This paper attempts to identify some of the main factors affecting a hotel establishment's decision to adopt (or not), and to what extent, socially and environmentally responsible business practices. Salient among the results obtained is the fact that corporate social responsibility (CSR) is likely to be part of a hotel's product differentiation strategy; additionally, it is shown that productivity aspects such as scale economies, as well as the hotel's internal organization, also impact a hotel's CSR strategy. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cost-effective pallet management strategies

The existing industry strategies for managing pallets, (single-use expendable pallets, buy/sell programs, and leased pallet pooling programs), are analyzed and compared using push and pull inventory control policies. A two-stage integrated framework is developed that combines cost relationship models with data gathered in industry with multi-echelon inventory performance measures. For the base case, the single-use expendable pallet approach presents the least cost of all strategies, but the leased pallet pooling programs outperform the buy/sell programs in terms of total cost. The intervals where each strategy is most attractive are shown with respect to pallet cost, salvage cost, dwell fees, effective issue fees, retention rates, and transportation costs.     

Managing severe airspace flow programs: The Airlines’ side of the problem

This paper presents a heuristic-based approach for minimizing airlines’ schedule disruptions and operation costs associated with severe airspace flow programs. It considers primary decisions made by flight dispatchers such as flight slot substitution and rerouting outside the boundaries of the flow-constrained area. A two-stage heuristic is developed. In the first, a linear approximation of the problem is used to screen inefficient routing and slot substitution alternatives. The second stage examines possible solution improvements through trading flight assignments for every pair of conflicting routes. A genetic algorithm is developed and used to benchmark the performance of the two-stage heuristic. In the algorithm, flight route and slot allocation schemes are modeled as chromosomes. The fitness of these chromosomes measures the magnitude of schedule disruption and overall operating cost. A set of experiments that compare the performance of the two heuristics considering airspace flow programs with different levels of severity is presented.     

Impact of corporate social responsibility on brand trust and brand loyalty: Case of Uber

The purpose of this research is to investigate the structural relationship between Uber corporate social responsibility (CSR), brand trust, and brand loyalty. Stakeholder theory is the theoretical foundation of the study. The CSR subdimensions of eco-friendliness, quarantine, user privacy, user safety, and driver well-being are used. Amazon Mechanical Turk was employed for data collection. The number of observations is 405. A structural equation model was implemented to test the research hypotheses. This study demonstrated the accountability of stakeholder theory for Uber brand management by showing a significant link between quarantine, user privacy, user safety, driver well-being, brand trust, and brand loyalty. This study contributes to the literature by validating the explanatory power of stakeholder theory in the case of Uber brand management.     

Evaluating frequent flyer programs from the air passengers' perspective

Frequent flyer programs are used as a common strategy in the airline industry. They can be defined as a service quality attribute that consists of some redemption of free flight miles and can determines the selection of airlines. It has been argued that they can act as an entry barrier, but limited attention has been paid to assessing the impact of this strategy on passengers’ perceptions of service. They are generally part of broad airline service quality parameters and thus can creates dilemmas for airline managers, passengers and regulators regarding their added value, costs and competitive effects on industrial organization.     

Towards an accessible hotel: a case study of Scandic

This paper focuses on the issue of hotel accessibility and offers a case study of Scandic. Drawing on a qualitative-cum-quantitative methodology, it argues for a holistic approach to the idea of an accessible hotel. Specifically, it is based on semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire survey conducted among elderly and disabled guests. Accordingly, it underscores not only the importance of a corporate social responsibility (CSR)-centred organizational culture and employee extra-role behaviours, but also of customer satisfaction, loyalty and trust. This paper proposes an original and evidence-based conceptualization of hotel accessibility and offers several practical recommendations intending to turn hotels into truly accessible facilities.     

Ramsey pricing including CO2 emission cost: An application to Spanish airports

The long-term growth in the air transport is leading to the need to expand airport infrastructure but this has serious environmental implications. Thus, there is the need to establish an alternative to the traditional airport pricing structure for landing fees, which reflects the overall costs that air transport operators impose on others. Airport pricing should provide a sound guide for future investments, and at the same time reflect whether additional facilities are needed and at what price, by taking into account all costs, including environmental costs. This paper analyses one application of Ramsey Pricing on uncongested Spanish airport, by considering the CO₂ emission costs as a valuable input.     

Why Canadians cycle more than Americans: A comparative analysis of bicycling trends and policies

In spite of their colder climate, Canadians cycle about three times more than Americans. The main reasons for this difference are Canada's higher urban densities and mixed-use development, shorter trip distances, lower incomes, higher costs of owning, driving and parking a car, safer cycling conditions, and more extensive cycling infrastructure and training programs. Most of these factors result from differences between Canada and the United States in their transport and land-use policies, and not from intrinsic differences in history, culture or resource availability. That is good news, since it suggests the possibility of significantly increasing cycling levels in the United States by adopting some of the Canadian policies that have so effectively promoted cycling and enhanced its safety.     

An assessment of the free and secure trade (FAST) program along the Canada–US border

Several new programs were introduced under the Smart Border Action Plan of 2001 to ensure both secure and efficient trade across the Canada–US border. This article evaluates just how well one of the programs, Free and Secure Trade (FAST), has succeeded in expediting shipments and reducing delays at the border. The results of this study indicate that the FAST program has reduced the average border wait time at four of the five busiest crossing ports. However, the benefits associated with the FAST program are unevenly distributed among the ports, determined by the ability to accommodate infrastructure improvements, and firms, with larger trucking companies and exporters reaping the benefits and small and medium-sized trucking firms and exporters burdened by costs and often unable to capitalize on the program’s benefits. Recommendations for program improvement include: greater regulatory cooperation between Canada and the US to reduce costly duplication and paperwork, and providing tax incentives or subsidies to small and medium-size firms as a means to increase the participation rate in the program.     

An innovative transit system and its impact on low income users: the case of the Metrocable in Medellín

The Metrocable in Medellín, Colombia, is an innovative system to improve access to deprived areas located in hilly zones. The idea to use cable cars as feeders to the metro was integrated into an ambitious urban project that, to date, has improved accessibility dramatically for some low-income residents. Using data before and after the project’s implementation, we evaluate the impact on social equity for the population in the zone of influence, considering changes in accessibility to employment and in housing-related costs. The access provided by the project to the main high-employment centres has doubled the number of opportunities that can be reached by the “target population,” even though travel-time savings and costs have seen only small changes. In fact, prior access to the CBD was poor and expensive, but time and costs were reduced with the Metrocable, although this reduction was not equal for all locations in the metropolitan area. In general, we argue that the main benefits, in terms of accessibility that differentiates the areas analysed from those used for comparison, are related to a localised ease of access to specific centres of activity according to the centralised development of the city’s job market along the mass transit lines. In terms of housing costs, we developed a set of difference-in-difference models that considered rent, transport, and public utilities costs; however, none of them have allowed us to conclude that there was a statistically valid relationship between the Metrocable and the changes in costs between the two analysed populations.     

Competition in railway monopolies

The transformation of railways from monopolies to markets open for internal competition is described and explained in a theoretical framework, and a model for the evaluation of the transformation’s impact on efficiency is developed. Using the model in an empirical study of the Swedish railway sector, it is found that external competitive pressure is strong in most supply segments and, focusing on loss of scale advantages, that the transformation will result in significant costs. Comparing the potential for gains by competition against the costs, it is concluded that increased efficiency by internal competition only seems possible to achieve for two train products: domestic combined transport and dedicated trains (both freight services).