Do socially responsible activities help hotels and casinos achieve their financial goals?

While the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has gained much attention and is currently practiced by many companies, it has yet to be empirically examined in the context of hotels and casinos, especially in regard to the potential effects of CSR on firm value and performance. As the findings on the relationship between CSR and financial performance have been inconclusive and this relationship has been found to differ among industries, this study examines the relationship between CSR and firm value and profitability for hotels and casinos. Results of the Durbin–Wu–Hausman (DWH) test and a subsequent two-stage least square (2SLS) method show that hotel companies’ CSR has a simultaneous and positive relationship with financial performance. For casino companies, however, results show that CSR has no simultaneous or particular effect on financial performance. Findings suggest that hotel companies can confidently and strategically increase CSR investment to enhance both short-term (profitability) and long-term performance (firm value). Casino companies need to carefully examine the effects of CSR on financial performance, when making CSR-related decisions.     

Is corporate social responsibility (CSR) participation the pathway to foster meaningful work and helping behavior for millennials?

This study examines how corporate social responsibility (CSR) participation affects organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) through meaningful work. This work is significant for three reasons: the joint examination of CSR, meaningful work, and OCB is novel; the comparative effects of CSR perception versus CSR participation have not been examined previously; and this is the first examination of such relationships for different generations of employees. Data from 245 employees of four-star hotels were analyzed using a partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) approach and multigroup analysis (MGA). Results reveal that CSR participation has a strong influence over work-related outcomes. The strongest effect of CSR participation on helping behavior is in Generation Y whereas CSR perception has a strong indirect effect on helping behavior through meaningful work in Generation X. These findings offer managerial implications to hotel managers on how best to manage generational differences in predicting helping behavior at workplace.     

Impacts of positive and negative corporate social responsibility activities on company performance in the hospitality industry

In spite of growing concern for corporate social responsibility (CSR) in various industries including the hospitality industry, the relationship between CSR activities and financial performance is a rarely examined subject in the hospitality context. Especially, research measuring the separate impacts of positive and negative CSR activities on companies’ financial performances remains, as yet, unconsidered. Thus, this study examines different impacts of positive and negative CSR activities on financial performance of hotel, casino, restaurant and airline companies, theoretically based on positivity and negativity effects. Findings suggest mixed results across different industries and will contribute to companies’ appropriate strategic decision-making for CSR activities by providing more precise information regarding the impacts of each directional CSR activity on financial performance.     

How effective are your CSR messages? The moderating role of processing fluency and construal level

This study explores effective ways for hospitality companies to communicate their corporate social responsibility activities with customers. The moderating role of processing fluency and psychological distance has been examined. The findings suggest that when customers are making a decision for the distant future (e.g., three months later), they are more likely to engage in abstract thinking and rely on metacognitive cues such as processing fluency. As such, a CSR message with high processing fluency will be preferred. On contrary, when customers are making a decision for the near future (e.g., next week), their information processing strategies are influenced by their concrete mental representation of the events. Under such circumstance, customers tend to have a more positive attitude and purchase intention after reading a CSR message with low processing fluency. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed as well.     

The effect of CSR on corporate image,customer citizenship behaviors,and customers’ long-term relationship orientation

With the expansion of corporate social impact, corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities have been regarded as a critical factor for corporate management. There is a need to understand customers’ perception of CSR activities for future corporate profitability. Thus, this study investigates the effect of multidimensional CSR activities on customers’ corporate image, customer citizenship behavior (CCB), and long-term relationship orientation (LRO). The results indicate that CSR (economic, ethical, legal, and philanthropic) had a positive effect on corporate image and on CCB (making recommendation, helping other consumers, and providing feedback). It also appears that CCB had a positive effect on LRO with firms. This study provides empirical implications for companies by verifying the effect of CSR activities as a focal factor in building long-term relationships as an organizational goal in the foodservice industry.     

Hotels’ corporate social responsibility practices,organizational culture,firm reputation,and performance

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices are considered one of the key success factors influencing firm performance. However, how CSR practices should be integrated into an organization’s business practices has not been investigated empirically. The present research proposes an integrated model incorporating the interrelationships among CSR practices, organizational culture, and corporate reputation to improve firm performance in the hotel industry. The proposed model is developed using stakeholder theory and the perceptions of the general managers. According to the study’s results, organizational culture influences different dimensions of CSR. The results further indicate that hotels using CSR practices related to employees and customers strengthen their reputation. Through improved reputation, CSR practices positively influence firm performance. Furthermore, hotel managers perceive that CSR activities in the local community and related to the environment do not significantly affect a hotel’s reputation. Theoretical and practical implications are provided, and the limitations of the study and future lines of research are discussed.     

What drives employees’ intentions to implement green practices in hotels? The role of knowledge,awareness, concern and ecological behaviour

This study investigates the effects of three green triggers – environmental knowledge, environmental awareness and environmental concern – and employees’ ecological behaviour on their intentions to implement green practices in hotel companies. Data was collected through a survey from 438 hotel employees in Hong Kong and structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to test the research hypotheses. The results indicate that the three green triggers are positively associated with ecological behaviour and ecological behaviour is positively associated with intention to implement green practices in hotels. Additionally, ecological behaviour mediates the relationship between the three green triggers and intentions to implement. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.     

How do consumers’ perceptions differ across dimensions of corporate social responsibility and hotel types?

This study develops three hypotheses regarding corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the context of the hotel industry. First, the study examines a ranking of consumers’ perceived importance of the four CSR dimensions proposed by Carroll’s hierarchy of CSR in 1991, expecting the following orders: philanthropic, ethical, legal, and economic dimensions, from most to least important. Second, the study investigates the relationship between consumers’ perceived importance of and their overall support for CSR. Third, the study introduces the type of hotel (for example, economy, mid-scale, and upscale) as a moderator to provide a better explanation of the relationship between consumers’ perceived importance of the CSR dimensions and support for CSR. Contributions to the CSR literature in general, and also specifically relating to the hotel context, and managerial implications are discussed.     

Narcissistic CEOs and corporate social responsibility: Does the role of an outside board of directors matter?

During recent years, there has been a growing interest in CEO narcissism across disciplines. Various scholars document that CEO narcissism is an important factor that should not be overlooked when analyzing various organizational outcomes and strategies. Research on CEO narcissism has focused on its negative implications on organization outcomes. However, little attention has been paid to its effect on corporate social responsibility (CSR). This study explores the relationship between CEO narcissism and two distinct facets of CSR (stakeholder management and social issue participation), while taking into account the moderating role of outside board of directors. Using a sample of publicly traded U.S restaurants, the results document that an outside board of directors plays a moderating role on the relationship between CEO narcissism and the two distinct facets of CSR.