Progress in Research on CSR and the Hotel Industry (2006-2015)

TLDR

This review synthesizes contemporary literature on corporate social responsibility in the hotel industry from 2006 to 2015. The review selected hotel‑industry articles that discuss CSR from a broad economic‑social‑environmental perspective and mapped their variables and topics. The review identified 48 papers organized into CSR‑Practices, CSR‑Reporting, and CSR‑Impacts (consumer‑marketing and firm‑performance substreams), noting comparable research interest in practices and impacts, a growing focus on impact studies, but significant gaps in consumer responses, CSR‑financial performance links, and local community engagement.

Abstract

This study reviews and synthesizes the contemporary literature focusing on the role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the hotel industry over the period 2006-2015. The revision process has covered articles meeting two conditions: first, articles focusing exclusively on the hotel industry (not on the tourism sector as a whole) and, second, the issue of CSR is addressed from a broader perspective (economic-social-environmental) and not only environmental. A total of 48 papers have been identified and grouped in three streams of research: CSR-Practices, CSR-Reporting, and CSR-Impacts; the last one been divided into two sublines of research: one from the consumer perspective (Marketing) and the second from the company’s perspective (Firm Business-Performance). For every line, the variables and topics studied are also established. The research lines “Practices” and “Impacts” have received a similar amount of research interest although there is a growing research interest in the impacts of CSR during recent years, either internal or external. Despite this fact, consumer reactions to CSR and the link between CSR and corporate financial performance (CFP) are still important gaps regarding research on CSR in the hotel industry. It is also worth to highlight that a key CSR stakeholder for hotels, like the local community, is particularly underresearched. Additional gaps of research are identified and suggestions for future lines of research are provided.