مسئولیت اجتماعی شرکت ها:فعالیت ایجاد ارزش

Making the world a better place to live is an idea that is spreading over the four quarters of the globe; and the business realm is no exception. Firms are expected to have ethical responsibilities and go beyond their profit-oriented activities and boost the wellbeing of the community. This situation becomes more evident when an industry has a very close relationship with environments and societies which, in turn, are facets of its own products. This study shows that socially oriented activities carried out by tourism firms bring about benefits for society both directly (inherent to the purpose of such activities) and indirectly (via their commercial performance). The fact that getting actively involved in duties outside of the business arena has a positive influence on a firm’s outcome implies that these initiatives help increase the social force of tourism through non-economic as well as economic mechanisms.

A recent business trend emphasizes that firms are expected to go beyond their profit-oriented activities and boost the wellbeing of the community, making the world a better place (Robins 2005). It means that the business sector should develop a marked non-economic function in society rather than only producing goods and making profits, by developing society-driven actions. In fact, Falck and Hebich (2007) suggest that if a company’s aim is to survive and prosper, the best way is to take a long-term view and understand that if it treats society well, society will return the favor. Post, Preston and Sachs (2002) go even further and assert that the corporation “cannot and should not survive if it does not take responsibility for the welfare of all its constituents, and for the wellbeing of the larger society within which it operates”. Therefore, firms have ethical responsibilities that include a range of societal norms or standards (Carroll 2000), and this seems particularly true for businesses in a consumer-oriented industry such as tourism. Even though Yaman and Gurel (2006) find that, depending on cultural aspects, differences exist in the way marketers look at moral philosophies, this industry has particular and clearly defined duties outside of the business realm on account of its close relationship with destination environments and societies which are components of its products

Environments and societies are facets of tourism products. Therefore, firms and entities managing these products are expected to act responsibly as externalities are especially manifest. A critical issue, however, arises: the effect of CSR on firms’ performance. Do socially oriented activities bring about positive outcomes for the firm? If so, it would imply that implementing social initiatives benefits the society directly (as they are inherently designed to enhance the wellbeing of society) and indirectly (given that tourism contributes to the wellbeing of society, if the companies within this industry augment their performance, their positive effect on society will also increase).