Tourism and corporate social responsibility: a critical review and research agenda

Abstract

This paper presents a critical review of recent progress in research on corporate social responsibility (CSR) in tourism management, and possible directions for future research. In comparison to a well established, empirically- grounded body of knowledge dealing with other sectors of economic activity, dedicated research on CSR in travel and tourism is at a relatively early stage. In the past decade, CSR has been the primary subject of a limited number of studies from a small academic community of practice. Studies have primarily focused on three macrolevel topic areas: implementation; the economic rationale for acting more responsibly; and the social relations of CSR. Interest in responsibility as an approach to tourism governance and management is nevertheless growing as several policy prescriptions and corporate vision statements reveal. For research to progress further and to match these ambitions, greater critical engagement with mainstream thinking on CSR is required as well as greater conceptual and methodological sophistication.