Social responsibility in the accommodation establishments

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Social responsibility in the accommodation establishments

Martynas Lauruska

Abstract

Relevance. The first forms of tourism appeared already in Egypt, became popular in Ancient Greece and Rome. However, it went through a long period of formation until the end of the 19th century took its present form, and after the Second World War, it degenerated into a mass phenomenon. In the 21st century, tourism became an integral part of our leisure time (Balezentis and Zuromskaite, 2012). The tourism sector is identified as one of the largest and fastest-growing sectors in the world. Although tourism is currently one of the worst affected areas due to the pandemic, it has been observed that CSR activities gained momentum when company managers realised that they had to ensure that their immediate operating environment facilitated smooth business to achieve their profit-oriented goals (Idahosa, 2019). Tourism has great potential to affect the lives of local people and can have a positive and negative impact on the destination community (Su, Huang & Huang, 2018). We know that there are different views on corporate social responsibility. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has gradually become a concern for many businesses in the tourism industry, with more than 70% of articles on the topic published in the last five years. (Font & Lynes, 2018). are currently facing a major challenge in adopting responsible treatment of the community and the environment (Tigu, Popescu & Hornoiu, 2016). Responsible tourism and corporate social responsibility (CSR) can play a significant role in the sustainable development of tourism. The international community and therefore institutions such as the European Union (EU) invite the tourism industry to implement CSRs as part of its business strategy and to offer responsible tourism products (Manente, Minghetti & Mingotto, 2012). Problem of research the question is what is the level of social responsibility in the tourism organization from the point of view of managers and employees and how to increase it. The aim - of the research is to propose a plan of measures to increase corporate social responsibility after establishing social responsibility in a tourism organization. Research tasks: define social responsibility and benefits in tourism organizations; to single out the criteria set for social responsibility in a tourism organization; identify social responsibility in the tourism organization and submit a plan of measures to increase social responsibility. Research methods- analysis of scientific literature, questionnaire survey and analysis of the description of statistical data. Results. According to the criteria of social responsibility, the quality of services, consumer information, health and safety, and a high level of social responsibility in the environment have been established. The value of the study was the expression of social responsibility according to the criterion - the degree of coverage of social responsibility, which includes environmental, social and economic elements and the implementation of responsible business practices. The application of social responsibility practices in the activities of tourism organizations includes tangible indicators and enables the implementation of environmental, human safety standards or other standards or a green key program. The majority of respondents confirm that CSR covers all the above elements of coverage, and that organizations develop and maintain contact with the public / the client by publishing publicity on CSR indicators.

Keywords: social responsibility, tourism, level of social responsibility.

Анотація

МАРТІНАС, ЛАУРУШКА - Магістрант, Литовського Університету Спорту (Каунас, Литва)

СОЦІАЛЬНА ВІДПОВІДАЛЬНІСТЬ В ОБ'ЄКТАХ РОЗМІЩЕННЯ

Актуальність. Перші види туризму з'явилися вже в Єгипті, набули поширення в Стародавній Греції та Римі. Однак вони пройшла тривалий період становлення, поки наприкінці XIX століття не набули сучасного вигляду, а після Другої світової війни переросли у масове явище. У 21 столітті туризм став невід'ємною частиною нашого дозвілля (Балежентіс та Журомскайте, 2012). Сектор туризму вважається одним із найбільших та швидкозрос- таючих секторів у світі. Хоча туризм в даний час є однією з найбільш постраждалих областей через пандемію, було помічено, що діяльність КСВ набрала обертів, коли керівники компаній усвідомили, що вони повинні забезпечити, щоб їхнє безпосереднє операційне середовище сприяло безперебійному бізнесу для досягнення їх цілей, орієнтованих на отримання прибутку Айдахосу (2019). Туризм має великий потенціал впливу на життя місцевих жителів і може мати як позитивний, так і негативний вплив на спільноту призначення (Su, Huang & Huang, 2018). Ми знаємо, що є різні погляди на корпоративну соціальну відповідальність. Корпоративна соціальна відповідальність (КСВ) поступово стала проблемою для багатьох підприємств індустрії туризму, і за останні п'ять років було опубліковано понад 70% статей на цю тему. (Шрифт та Лайнс, 2018). В даний час організації стикаються з серйозною проблемою прийняття відповідального ставлення до спільноти та навколишнього середовища (Jigu, Popescu & Homoiu, 2016). Відповідальний туризм та корпоративна соціальна відповідальність (КСВ) можуть відіграти значну роль у сталому розвитку туризму. Міжнародна спільнота і, отже, такі інститути, як Європейський Союз (ЄС), пропонують індустрії туризму впроваджувати КСВ у межах своєї бізнес-стратегії та пропонувати продукти відповідального туризму (Manente, Minghetti & Mingotto, 2012). Проблемою дослідження є питання, який рівень соціальної відповідальності в туристській організації з точки зору керівників і співробітників і як її підвищити. Мета - запропонувати план заходів щодо підвищення корпоративної соціальної відповідальності після встановлення соціальної відповідальності у туристській організації. Завдання дослідження: визначити соціальну відповідальність та пільги в туристських організаціях; виділити критерії соціальної відповідальності туристичної організації; визначити соціальну відповідальність в організації туризму та подати план заходів щодо підвищення соціальної відповідальності. Методи дослідження - аналіз наукової літератури, анкетування та аналіз опису статистичних даних. Результати. За критеріями соціальної відповідальності встановлено якість послуг, інформування споживачів, здоров'я та безпеку, високий рівень соціальної відповідальності у навколишньому середовищі. Цінність дослідження полягає у вираженні соціальної відповідальності за критерієм - ступеня охоплення соціальної відповідальності, що включає екологічні, соціальні та економічні елементи та впровадження відповідальної ділової практики. Застосування практик соціальної відповідальності у діяльності туристичних організацій включає матеріальні показники і дозволяє реалізувати стандарти охорони навколишнього середовища, безпеки людини або інші стандарти або програму «зелений ключ». Більшість респондентів підтверджують, що КСВ охоплює всі перераховані вище елементи охоплення, і що організації розвивають і підтримують контакт з громадськістю/клієнтом, публікуючи інформацію про показники КСВ.

Ключові слова: соціальна відповідальність, туризм, рівень соціальної відповідальності.

Introduction

Concept of social responsibility

The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has existed for more than 60 years. The theory of SSA is being studied and practiced is implemented in many countries around the world, but to date, there is no generally accepted definition. social responsibility has remained the subject of debate for decades. For companies to become more competitive, a strategic approach to corporate social responsibility becomes increasingly important (Kontautiene, 2016). There is a long and varied history related to the development of the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR). However, there is a lack of historical review in academic literature, which, together with the public and international events, depicts the development of academic understanding of this concept, which influences social expectations regarding the behaviour of companies (Agudelo, Johannsdottir & Davidsdottir, 2019). The majority of authors agree that the social responsibility of organisations is to be considered as a set of efforts and commitments of organisations that do not pursue business goals, but contribute to the well-being of social groups. Social responsibility is identified as conscious, based on values and accountable to stakeholders (Zickiene, 2015). According to J. Jakuleviciene, social responsibility is important because it reduces costs (e.g. saving raw materials and energy resources, lower turnover of employees, increased efficiency of their work); ensure better management of business risks (e.g. reducing the risk of reputational loss or sanctions by supervisors); helps to earn a more favourable attitude of customers; attracts workers; creates a better brand; stimulate innovation. socially responsible organizations, employees are allowed to learn, create and realize themselves, as a reward for the work performed to receive not only money but also to strengthen self-esteem, the organization understands the importance of combining family and work obligations, therefore it creates favourable working conditions for employees. organizations have a wellfunctioning information system for employees, give employees more powers, take care of their working capacity and safety at work, increase the diversity of work, equal rights and equal pay for women and men (Pauzuoliene and Daubariene, 2015). Social responsibility is a business obligation that businesses must morally continue and supplement (Basariya & Al Kake, 2019). CSRs in tourism can be defined as guiding business policies whereby tourism companies incorporate social and environmental issues into their business mission, strategies and operations, as well as communicating with stakeholders. It is essential to preserve the legal interests of society and fulfil a financial commitment. CSR is today seen as a crossstakeholder approach where stakeholders are not only partners in the implementation and implementation of CSR strategies. CSR is a business contribution to sustainable development. Although many different definitions are used for the description, and many terms CSR are economic, social and environmental indicators, together with a voluntary nature that takes into account the relationship between stakeholders describing the detailed scope of CSR (LundDurlacher, 2015). The concept of social responsibility in the scientific literature is extremely complex, covering the citizenship of the company, sustainable development, management of interest groups, environmental management, business ethics and the results ofthe company's social activities. On the other hand, modern scientific literature on corporate social responsibility emphasizes the links between socially responsible activities and the profitability of the company (Andriukaitiene, 2015). Economics, Legal, ethical and philanthropic responsibilities towards stakeholders, both internal and external, are important. Summing up the social responsibility of business, it is to be proposed to be defined as a set of measures that the organization incorporates into its natural activities, objectives and decisionmaking processes, creating constructive relations with interest groups and respecting their needs to contribute to the general good (Seiliцte, 2013).

Importance and benefits of the application of social responsibility practices in tourism service organisations. Tourism is an important industry with great growth potential and generating profits that will be used for the development of the country (Su, Huang & Huang, 2018). Tourism is an industry with the greatest growth potential. The number of tourists is increasing their travels throughout the year. Increasing efforts are being made to promote the socially responsible behaviour of tourism companies (Zdravkovic & Pekovic, 2020). In recent years, corporate social responsibility has quickly become the key to the company's success and competitiveness. This trend is associated with income growth and changes in consumer behavioural psychology (Blinova, Gregoric, Dedusenko & Romanova, 2018). responsibility has become one of the modern core areas of enterprise activity and many social responsibility issues are essentially becoming corporate problems that need to be tackled effectively. Traditionally, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been used to assess the impact of business on the environment and society as a question of business ethics and governance principles. Later, scientists made a revolutionary aspect, meaning that corporate responsibility could increase the profits of their owners and shareholders. the theory of stakeholders, many economists had to stress that OSR is a rational tool for good justification and can be an invaluable source of innovation, opportunity and competitive advantage (Hassan, Shehata, El-Dief & Salem, 2020). And while tourism rates have changed drastically in a negative direction over the last two years due to the COVID 19 pandemic, tourism is slowly recovering. Social responsibility is particularly relevant at this time.) The objectives of sustainable tourism development relate to local economic prosperity, quality of employment, social equality, visitor satisfaction, local control, community well-being, cultural richness, physical integrity, biodiversity, resource efficiency and environmental cleanliness (UNEP and UNWTO 2005).) (LundDurlacher, 2015). In the strategies of tourism companies, the concept of CSR has become a key part. Environmental protection, fair working conditions for workers and contributing to the well-being of local communities are key issues in international tourism strategies. Nowadays, tourists are more informed and more concerned about various aspects, such as the environment or health. In addition, markets are overcrowded and businesses are forced to find new ways to reach out to consumers. Corporate social responsibility schemes are therefore a great way to communicate their values to businesses. Secondly, and as a result, companies are helped by corporate social responsibility programmes to improve their reputation. social responsibility programs help grow sales, income and the market attracts and supports valuable employees, innovation and learning, reputation, media opportunities in ethical business activities (Jigu, et al 2016). Are several arguments that confirm the benefits of social responsibility for the company (Juscius and Sneideriene, 2013). Corporate social responsibility contributes to the successful implementation of corporate business during the economic globalisation phase. The perception of social responsibility and social activity opens up prospects for favourable business results and ultimately ensures greater prestige and profits. The main strategic aspects of CSR that contribute to the implementation of CSR in difficult economic times are the safety of workers and socially responsible treatment of them, the promotion of business transparency. Implementation of corporate social responsibility. This affects not only businesses but also many institutions, and they must also act responsibly during the economic downturn (Kontautiene, Janciute & Navickas, 2010). In modern business, companies cannot ignore social responsibility or organizational culture to be competitive. Organisations exist only with the consent of the public, so each organisation should carry out its activities with the least possible threat to the environment and man (Pauzuoliene ir Daubariene, 2015).

Social responsibility practices and goals to achieve the right level. Tourism is a complex business, described as an existing system of complex pooling of stakeholders and resources (Salvado, Ferreira, Serra & Marujo, 2020). In addition to achieving economic objectives, tourism companies must take care of these, social objectives and the environmental impact of their business activities. Social responsibility and economic profits are not contradictory, but complementary. Nowadays, corporate social responsibility (CSRs) in the tourism and hotel industry is increasingly represented. and more tourists are showing concern (Zdravkovic & Pekovic, 2020). Wherever tourism exists, society has certain expectations of good business conduct, which includes compliance with various societal and environmental standards. Companies are expected to devote most of their resources to the development, livelihoods of workers, the local community and a sustainable environment (Bello & Kamanga, 2018). tourism, as in other business sectors, the concept of corporate social responsibility has become a key part of company strategies. In a representative study (Dodds & Joppe, 2005), the authors outlined the main directions and measures that could achieve CSR tourism goals:

• Gradually comply with international standards;

• Include quality in the guidelines, together with environmental and social criteria, accreditation and submission of reports;

• Encourage associations to harmonise and apply the guidelines;

• Develop industry-specific and comprehensive guidelines and charters;

• Implement the current certification system, but still continue construction, and the actions of the local community aimed at CSA as a business to perceive it as a functional business activity;

• Link development funds to CSRs so that developers and managers have a long-term goal of achieving the life expectancy of their products;

• Ratify and pursue sustainable supply chain initiatives;

• To inform about corporate social responsibility initiatives;

• Approval of certification or use of certified products with the assistance of supply chain partners;

• Formulate appropriate investment structures to promote and promote tourism destinations in terms of sustainable development;

• Encourage industry associations to provide information on their way of achieving more sustainable tourism;

• To prepare laws for the preparation of corporate social reports; laws or encourage companies that apply certification schemes to be recognised at the international level or standard national level (Jigu, et al. 2016).

Many CSRs recommend that the first step that companies seeking to comply with CSRs should take is to join one or more designated United Nations organizations - including the United Nations Global Compact.

Results

The level of socially responsible behavior of a tourism organisation in the market and the environment was measured by scoring (1 - extremely low 2 - low; 3 - average; 4 - high; 5 - extremely high) (see Table 1).

In summary, the average scores were derived and the level of scoring was determined.

The interviewees revealed that the quality of services in the organisation is sufficiently high (4.4 points), while consumer information, health and safety also reaches high rates (4.5 points), a little less (4.1 points), but environmental responsibility is still carried out at a high level.

When assessing the impact of CSR practices on customers' choice when purchasing services, 49.3% of respondents believe that it is very important for customers that a tourism company applies social responsibility practices. Similarly, 26.4% of respondents believe that CSRs are important to clients.

A smaller proportion of employees (14.3 percent) believe that it is neither important nor irrelevant to customers whether or not the company has such practices (as it can be assumed that the majority of customers appreciate the efforts of a tourism company to operate in a socially responsible manner and it is likely that this will be important when choosing services). tourism responsibility social

The results of the research show that the tourism organisation carries out a high level of social responsibility practice, but there is potential to achieve a higher level especially in environmental matters. In addition, the success of the application of social responsibility is guaranteed by the constant integration of principles into the company's business processes and socially responsible decisionmaking by identifying disruptions to achieve the desired goal in the field of social responsibility in relations with customers, community, employees and the environment. Increasing the level of social responsibility of a tourism organisation is linked to continuous monitoring and feedback.

Table 2 Respondent pasiskirstymas pagal bendrq atsakomybes lygio vertinimq

According to the tourism organisation (see Table 2), 58.4% of respondents rate the level of social responsibility of the services provided by the organisation extremely high, while a little less (33.8%) say that services are at a high level and only 7.8% value the average.

When disturbances in the field of social responsibility are detected during the audit or during the control of operational processes, ways of eliminating problems are adopted, taking into account the uniqueness of the situation and making improvement or innovative decisions. in line with the practice of scientific sources, (Tigu, Popescu and Hornoiu (2016); Lebe and Vrecko (2014); Manente, Minghetti and Mingotto (2012); Salvado, Ferreira, Serra & Marujo (2020), Bach et al., (2014); Ghoul et al. (2011); Liu et al (2019) the increase in the level of social responsibility can be carried out in accordance with the steps for continuous improvement. Figure. 1 proposed increase in the level of social responsibility under the proposed phases.

Table 3 Distribution of respondents according to the influence of THEA on customers' choice of service

Fig. 1. Plan to increase the level of social responsibility of the tourism organisation

In the case of the study, it became clear that social responsibility in the environment is assessed below, therefore decisions are linked to this issue. The analysis of the studies carried out shows that environmental initiatives and the education of employees and customers in order to increase the level of environmental protection are likely to have a positive impact.

Conclusions

The concept of corporate social responsibility is interpreted and understood in different ways. Corporate social responsibility can be described as covering several components, i.e. economic, legal and environmental, ethical and philanthropic responsibilities. Corporate social responsibility is becoming increasingly popular and increasingly integrated into business activities. To ensure the success of the organisation, it is important to take into account the stakeholders of the organisation. Integrating social responsibility as a good management practice into business processes can improve relations with stakeholders and contribute to better business performance.

The investigation found that the hotel managers and staff involved considered social responsibility in the tourism organisation to be of a high level. The good results of the study were likely due to the fact that the survey was conducted in high- level accommodation companies belonging to a single network, where a unified social responsibility policy is applied. In terms of criteria, quality of service, consumer information, health and safety, environmental responsibility have a high level of social responsibility, but environmental responsibility is assessed at the lowest score.

The study assessed the expression of social responsibility according to criteria - the degree of social responsibility coverage, which includes environmental, socio-economic elements and the implementation of responsible business practices, the application of social responsibility practices in the activities of tourism organizations includes tangible indicators and allows the implementation of environmental, human safety standards or other standards or a green key program.

The majority of respondents confirm that CSR covers all the above-mentioned elements of coverage and communicates with the public/community and customers when making public about CSR indicators in public, but the tourism organisation has the potential to increase the level of social responsibility. A higher level of social responsibility is also associated with higher quality services, so it makes sense to invest efforts in changes in the level of social responsibility.

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