Example tourism dissertation topic 8:

A proposal for a co-operative corporate social responsibility model for small, independent hotels.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) need not be the province only of large companies, yet the economies of scale available to large enterprises ensures that green initiatives and similar CSR endeavours are often restricted to this market. This dissertation suggests a co-operative model for CSR, whereby small, independent hotels in distinct regions combine to achieve greater savings in energy, services and supplies. Even aspects such as staff training could be achieved within a co-operative model, thus enabling small businesses to enjoy the benefits that enhanced CSR brings, without the prohibitive costs for one-off courses and contracts.

Suggested initial topic reading:

• Dam, L. and Scholtens, B. (2012). ‘Does ownership type matter for corporate social responsibility?’, Corporate Governance: An International Review, Vol. 20, pp. 233-252.
• Garay, L. and Font, X. (2012). ‘Doing good to do well? Corporate social responsibility reasons, practices and impacts in small and medium accommodation enterprises’, International Journal of Hospitality Management, Vol. 31(2), pp. 329-337.
• Njite, D., Hancer, M. and Slevitch, L. (2011). ‘Exploring corporate social responsibility: A managers’ perspective on how and why small independent hotels engage with their communities’, Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism, Vol. 12(3), pp. 177-201.