Encouraging Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Tourism Development in Global Tourism

Background

The origins of contemporary CSR are traced back to the work of industrial philanthropists in the nineteenth century (Blowfield & Murray, 2008). CSR refers to a company’s voluntary activities required by law (McWilliams & Siegel, 2001). CSR offers companies a method by which they can manage and influence the attitudes and perceptions of their stakeholders, thus enabling the benefits of positive relationships to deliver business advantages (Munasinghe & Kumara, 2013). Many researchers have explored the effect of CSR on firm performance in tourism-related industries (Kang et al., 2010; Lee & Park, 2009) and in general (Brammer & Millington, 2008; McWilliams & Siegel, 2000).

Sustainability is recognized as a tool for tackling the negative impacts of tourism and attaining its long-term viability (Liu, 2003). The principles of sustainability increasingly inform the public and private sectors of tourism industry in decision making and there is an extensive literature on the subject (Hunter, 1997). Sustainable development is one of the most common prescriptions for making a community more resilient (Edwards, 2009). Sustainable development incorporates a long-term perspective on resource exploitation (Amir, Ghapar, Jamal, & Ahmad, 2015).