CSR actions and post-COVID-19 consequences in the hotel industry: a conceptual framework

Abstract

The pandemic of COVID-19 has shifted the focus of businesses from traditional corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities in the current time and has prepared them for the unpredictable future to show resilience and flexibility to cope with the crisis. This study conceptualises the relationship between the hotel industry's response to the COVID-19 as engagement in CSR and the positive consequences through stakeholder satisfaction. The theoretical framework is based on stakeholder's theory and offers an understanding of the strategic responses of the hotels to the pandemic crisis. Particularly, this study proposes that the hotel industry's responsible activities to cope with COVID-19 through CSR (current and future actions) may influence its post-COVID-19 consequences (performance and reputation) through the mediating effect of stakeholder's (community and employee) satisfaction. This conceptual study also suggests a research direction for empirical findings and their implications.