Corporate Social Responsibility

 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is nowadays a prominent issue for many businesses. The concept is closely related to sustainable business development, which requires companies to balance their social, environmental and economic responsibilities towards business stakeholders. In contrast to what the terminology implies, CSR is not only a concern of large corporations. It has gained increasing relevance for small and medium size enterprises (SMEs), however industry-specific insights of the CSR meaning for this business type are widely lacking.

 This study uses the example of the tourism industry and the context of local inbound tour operators in order to explore the relevance and scope of CSR for small and medium size enterprises. Thailand provides the geographical market for this research, as the destination is one of the CSR pioneers in tourism, among developing countries.

Sustainable development in tourism was a concern long before the concept of CSR gained in popularity. The industry is largely dominated by SMEs, whose responsible business operations are often associated with the development of sustainable tourism products. The more comprehensive role of CSR has been rarely investigated in this context. Nevertheless, it is undeniable that CSR plays an increasingly important and strategic role in the tourism industry. Looking at large overseas tour operators, the majority heavily promotes and markets CSR commitment. However, the question remains, how small and medium size inbound tour operators perceive CSR.

Do they fully understand the concept and its relevance? Would they agree with the formalization of activities, that they have been committed to before issues like sustainability were hyped in the industry? What are they currently doing in terms of CSR and how has CSR development influenced business operations?

These and other questions are aimed to be answered throughout this study, resulting into recommendations that provide guidance for successful CSR development in Thailand‟s tour operating industry.

Answers to the research problem were revealed by means of a qualitative research approach, which was conducted in two steps. Firstly, desk research was employed by means of a comprehensive literature review that answers the following research questions:

1. What are the relevant theoretical frames in order to basically outline the CSR concept?

2. How is CSR linked to sustainable tourism development? What role has the concept played in the overall tourism industry yet and what does theory indicate on the future development of CSR?

3. What is known about the meaning of CSR in the tour operating industry? What differences have to be considered between large and small/medium size tour operators?

4. How far is the geographical market of Thailand developed in terms of CSR? What can be found on particular CSR-issues and -development in the tour operating Industry?

5 Exploring the scope and relevance of CSR for small and medium size tourism enterprises A situation analysis and future outlook for inbound tour operators in Thailand

The CSR concept goes back to theories on the management of stakeholders and the responsibilities towards them. Therefore, the concepts of stakeholder theory, business responsibilities and CSR motivations provide the theoretical framework. Besides, the established link between sustainable tourism and CSR will be commonly referred back to throughout this research. Eventually, the importance of performance standards and certification was identified as a relevant theory for this study.

While the literature review provides a comprehensive picture of the research background, field research was employed to reveal insights into an industry that, to the researcher‟s best knowledge, had not been academically explored in this context before. Primary data was gathered by means of nine in-depth interviews with small and medium size inbound tour operators. The interviews were held during a month-long research period in Thailand, which enhanced the researcher‟s understanding and expertise for the topic. Interview data was transcribed and analyzed in accordance with the research questions. Thereby, emergent themes were assigned to the correlated research questions in order to maintain a clear and meaningful structure of the research results. The outcomes of this study address the following research questions:

1. How do small and medium size inbound tour operators in Thailand understand the concept of CSR?

2. To what types of CSR activities do small and medium size inbound tour operators in Thailand commit to and what relevance do these activities have for the business?

3. Which motivation for CSR commitment of small and medium size inbound tour operators can be identified?

4. What issues can be recognized in the context of the tour operators‟ CSR-conception, -activities and -motivations and how do they affect the future development of CSR?

5. What can be said about the strategic relevance of CSR and what does that mean for the future development of CSR?

In conclusion, it was revealed that the concept of CSR does not yet play a significant role for small and medium size tour operators in Thailand. Based on the conception, activities and motivations for CSR three major issues were identified:

1. Limitations in the conception of CSR: Although Thailand‟s local tour operators are strong advocates of sustainable tourism and according business practices, the terminology of CSR causes a certain degree of aversion. CSR is often connoted with the intention to misuse sustainability principles for marketing advantages. Nevertheless, tour operators need to face the issue that genuine activism does not make sustainable business operations viably work in the long-term.

2. Irrelevance of performance standards: Responsibilities and the maintenance of business-stakeholder relationships are essential for small and medium size inbound tour operators in Thailand. Nevertheless, activities are mainly rooted in individual principles and standards, which lead to the conclusion that a credible performance is unlikely to be communicated. Furthermore, the companies commonly face the issue that outcomes of CSR-activities are hardly measurable. The CSR-MAP criteria have not been relevant for any of the tour operators yet.

vi Exploring the scope and relevance of CSR for smal l and medium size tourism enterprises A situation analysis and future outlook for inbound tour operators in Thailand

3. Conflict between market and supply side: Thailand‟s small and medium size tour operators have a problem in placing their tour products in the market. Reasons for this were found at various levels: high product prices, the reluctance of overseas operators to purchase products and lacking knowledge about appropriate market targeting and product marketing. Communication is the key problem that impedes a prosperous market-supplier relationship.

In order to address the above problems, CSR reporting was determined as a key solution. Nevertheless, certain conditions have not been met in the industry, yet. Therefore, a number of steps to fulfill prerequisites for implementation of CSR reporting and subsequently, a certification scheme are highly recommended:

- The implementation of an effective CSR reporting system should be prioritized, in order to successfully address the B2B marketing channel.

- A critical review and assessment of the CSR performance standards is strongly advised, in order to enhance the relevance and applicability for local tour operators.

- Realistic indicators for the assessment of performance standards are recommended to be developed, in order to enhance the relevance and applicability for local tour operators.

- Meaningful opportunities for education and communication should be created, in order to make formal CSR approaches more tangible and appealing to local tour operators.

- Possibilities for effective cooperation with the government (TAT) should be proposed, in order to encourage financial and promotional support for the suggested initiatives.

www.google.com.pk