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Exploring the Role of CSR in the Organizational Identity of Hospitality Companies: A Case from the Spanish Tourism Industry

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Abstract

Recently, organizational identity is being given more attention than ever before in the business world. This notion has grown substantially in importance in the hospitality industry. Facing increased competition, hospitality companies are driven to project a positive image to their stakeholders. Therefore, these organizations have begun to develop new organizational identity programs as part of their strategies to achieve their desired identities. This study analyzes the role of corporate social responsibility in the definition of the Organizational Identity of these organizations, employing a qualitative research methodology based on an illustrative case study. Particularly, the authors analyze the case of Meliá Hotels International, a leading hotel company in Spain with a presence in 27 countries. The findings indicate that the company has formally integrated CSR into its strategy to align its actual identity with its desired and conceived identity in view of the critics in its local community. Moreover, the interest of the firm toward its stakeholders suggests that the company understands its conceived identity as an important link in understanding its organizational identity. This paper demonstrates that firm’s organizational identity is a set of several elements. When analyzing Meliá Hotels International’s identity, we see that the firm defines this concept as that which is most central, enduring, and distinctive about the organization. In this sense, the company appears to follow the vision-driven approach by referring to the organizational mission and vision statements, organizational philosophy, and core values as the basis of organizational identity.

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Notes

  1. Previous studies show that companies position rather than differentiate themselves by using mission and vision statements and organizational values (Chun and Davies 2001; Ingenhoff and Fuhrer 2010). Ingenhoff and Fuhrer (2010) show that most companies position themselves by using their competitors as a frame of reference. In their study, the authors found that most companies position themselves using the same attributes (e.g., values) as their rivals. These studies demonstrate that firms do not stand out from the crowd by stressing particular aspects of organizational personality that are different from their rivals; instead, firms just emphasize the same aspects their competitors do. This behavior can be explained by the fact that it might be difficult for a company to stress these aspects by communicating its character traits. The human metaphor is more appropriate for a company wanting to achieve closeness with its stakeholders by presenting itself as a person or even as their partner (Aaker and Fournier 1995). Companies can provide confidence by presenting themselves effectively; however, it is difficult to attain uniqueness by presenting a personality (e.g., mission, vision, and values) that is totally different from others (Ingenhoff and Fuhrer 2010). It can be said that conveying an organizational personality is not sufficient to stand out from one’s competitors. In view of the socially responsible values used by MHI and its competitors when defining their organizational identities (Table 1), it appears that this finding applies to the hotel industry in the Spanish market.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the FPU Scholarship Program provided by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Economics, University of Cantabria, Avenida de los Castros s/n, 39005, Santander, Cantabria, Spain

    Patricia Martínez, Andrea Pérez & Ignacio Rodríguez del Bosque

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  1. Patricia Martínez
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  2. Andrea Pérez
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  3. Ignacio Rodríguez del Bosque
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Correspondence to Patricia Martínez.

Appendix

Appendix

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Table 7 Codes used for the qualitative analysis of MHI case study
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Martínez, P., Pérez, A. & Rodríguez del Bosque, I. Exploring the Role of CSR in the Organizational Identity of Hospitality Companies: A Case from the Spanish Tourism Industry. J Bus Ethics 124, 47–66 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1857-1

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