The Mediating Role of HRM in the Relationship between CSR and Performance in the Hospitality Industry

Simona Franzoni,Muhammad Ishtiaq Ishaq,Huma Sarwar

doi:10.3390/su132413699

Abstract

In recent years, the concepts of human resource management (HRM) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) have gained significant focus across industries. The role and implications of CSR are vital for organizational success; similarly, HRM plays a vital role in understanding, developing, and implementing CSR strategies. Therefore, we claimed that the nexus of HRM and CSR is worthwhile to study and relevant in the current pandemic situation. Despite recent calls about the role of human resource management (HRM) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in achieving sustainable performance, a few studies have investigated their role combinedly in the hospitality industry, especially in a cross-cultural context. Therefore, the present study addresses the current lack of comparative research about the impact of HRM and CSR on sustainable performance in the hospitality industry of Pakistan, the UK, and Italy and shows the mediating role of HRM in such a relationship. A quantitative methodology is applied to the survey of the employees from 354 Pakistani, 438 British, and 520 Italian hotels working in three-, four-, and five-star hotels. The results showed a positive correlation between CSR, HRM, and sustainable performance. Moreover, the results also indicated significant differences among the three countries analyzed concerning the mediating role of HRM in this relationship.

Highlights

The hospitality industry is amongst the prominent industries list that have grown significantly and contributed to the world’s GDP [1,2]
The present study contributes to the development of the human resource management (HRM) practices by analyzing their connection to corporate social responsibility (CSR) and their impact on sustainable performance by presenting a quantitative analysis
The results show that HRM is correlated with CSR in the UK, Italy, and Pakistan and that economic incentives, ethical culture, and teamwork play an important role in enhancing sustainable performance in the three countries

Summary

Introduction

The hospitality industry is amongst the prominent industries list that have grown significantly and contributed to the world’s GDP [1,2]. Claimed that the world’s economy has collapsed within a few months due to the pandemic. The hospitality industry is facing considerable pressures from different stakeholders to pay attention [4,5,6,7] to its adverse impact on the economic, social, and natural environments, such as water consumption, waste generation, biodiversity loss, noise pollution, air pollution, climate change, etc. Since the hospitality industry is amongst the top contributors to the economy, it has adverse impacts on society and the environment [8]. Rise in environmentally conscious consumers, and changing ecological situations, the reconfiguration ability in hotels is becoming challenging to achieve higher performance

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