It made a splash! Earlier this summer, the Business Roundtable (BRT) redefined the purpose of a corporation.  The corporations of the business roundtable stated: While each of our individual companies serves its own corporate purpose, we share a fundamental commitment to all of our stakeholders. We commit to: Delivering value to our customers. We will further the tradition of American companies leading the way in meeting or exceeding customer expectations. Investing in our employees. This starts with compensating them fairly and providing important benefits. It also includes supporting them through training...

17 October, 2019 /

There is an excitement about the power of social entrepreneurship. Unleashing the power of entrepreneurial thinking on social problems provides “out of the box” solutions  after years of "standard" responses these challenges. However, some of the most vocal advocates for social entrepreneurship only extoll the virtues of scalable solutions and game-changing approaches. There is more to social enterprise than a few large organizations and I want to take a moment to celebrate social entrepreneurs that are working in their own small corners of the world, making real and positive change...

06 July, 2016 /

Companies wishing to be socially responsible face a world of good and important causes. Over the last few months I have been looking at Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the tourism industry and I have been amazed at the wide number of issues that fall under the topic of CSR.  Clearly, no company can address every issue - we simply can't be everything to everyone. Choosing "the fights' that are important to the company and its stakeholders is critical in managing this process. A recent article on adding discipline to...

13 August, 2014 /

So often, tourism is a "bit player" in the health of a community. In the traditional models of tourism,  tour operators come and - at best - the visitors they bring spend money that contributes to the local economy. While the tourism income helps, there is a lot of  what economists call "leakage". Imagine a new type of tourism company - a company founded for the purpose of enhancing the cultural and economic benefit of the host community. Imagine a social enterprise - like Tom's Shoes or Ethos Water...

16 May, 2014 /

Bain and Company, one of the world's leading consultancy companies, recently released their report - "Great Green Talent Machine" touting the importance of CSR in recruiting talent. This is the latest in a series of articles and papers highlighting the importance of corporate reputation and values, often best expressed through their CSR activities, as a factor in attracting talent. So what if you are the "talent"? You are attracted to the company and now you want to work with them. How do you get the job ? What do recruiters...

14 September, 2013 /

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is one of the key drivers of sustainable tourism. The tourism system involves many actors all working to deliver a customer experience. There is little in the way of "top down, command and control" in tourism.  So - without the active participation of companies - and the managers that run those companies - it is difficult to imagine the tourism system becoming more sustainable. In a recent study led by Diana Chan Yu, we examined the drivers of Corporate Social Responsibility in hotels in China....

01 June, 2013 /

There is real skepticism that companies can do well and do good. When discussion turns to the socially responsible actions of a company it seems inevitable that the motives of the company will be brought into question. The typical comment goes something like " sure - they are the greenest company around...

27 April, 2012 /