Strategic corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts that are directly related to a hospitality company's core business operations and competencies can help companies create both social and business value, according to researchers in the Penn State School of Hospitality Management.
Led by Penn State Professor of Hospitality Management Seoki Lee, the research team developed a strategic framework to help hospitality companies optimize their CSR activities - like environmental and social initiatives - to obtain greater social and business value. The researchers published their work in the journal Tourism Economics.
"When it comes to strategic CSR, it is a company's core business operations and competencies that matter most," Lee said, pointing to a restaurant participating in food donation programs as an example of strategic CSR matching with a company's core business operations and competencies. "If a business is participating in CSR activities, those activities must be directly related to the company's core business operations and competencies. When they do that, they can create not only social value but also business value for the company itself."
