Innovativeness and corporate social responsibility in hospitality and tourism family firms: The role of family firm psychological capital

Abstract

This study employs a goal systems theory approach to examine the unique relationship between family firm innovativeness, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) in family-owned hospitality and tourism firms. While a general proclivity aligning family firms with CSR has been illustrated in extant work, the present research seeks to shed light onto the nature of this relationship when considering environmental and social responsibility separately. Results both reinforce extant findings emphasizing the relevance of CSR to family firm strategy broadly and suggest that family firm psychological capital represents an important factor driving the salience of environmental and social responsibility goals differently. Our findings lead to multiple contributions by illustrating the importance of family-centered goals and the reinforcing effects on the link between firm innovativeness and environmental CSR activity. We also provide insights for family firm owners by illustrating the efficiencies awarded to those firms that align their CSR investment with family-centered goals. © 2021 Elsevier Ltd