مقاله سال ۲۰۱۶

The number of regularly released corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports has dramatically increased across industries in the past decade (Chen, 2013; Duff, 2014; Hou and Reber, 2011; Morsing, 2006). Although companies may receive both positive and negative responses to publishing such CSR reports, most scholars note CSR reporting’s benefits as a competitive advantage (Coombs and Holladay, 2012; Jiraporn et al., 2014; Jo and Harjoto, 2014; Matute-Vallejo et al., 2011; Tang et al., 2012).

Specifically, prior relevant tourism industry literature has also addressed the importance of publishing CSR reports (Abaeian et al., 2014; Calveras, 2015; Wells et al., 2015). The airline sector in the tourism industry has received notable attention from both academia and the public. The term “sustainable aviation” has become commonplace (Daley, 2012) because aviation has a key role in illustrating sustainability as an important source of economic growth and environmental impacts (Budd et al., 2013; Upham, 2003). As a result, an increasing number of airlines have implemented CSR initiatives (Ayuso, 2006; Chen et al., 2012b). The airline industry’s adoption of CSR is still relatively slow; the number of airlines formally and consistently reporting CSR information for more than ten years is small relative to the size of the sector (Cowper-Smith and de Grosbois, 2010). Andersson and Jabkowski (2013) proposed that airlines’ awareness of sustainability topics began to especially receive attention during the last decade. The 2014 Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI), which recently surveyed 16 airlines (62% of the 26 airlines invited to participate), indicated that the sampled airlines exhibited a market capitalization of 66%. Further, the airline industry’s average score was the lowest of all participating industries (Robeco, 2015), indicating that the airline industry’s CSR performance should be improved.

This study investigated the factors that motivate airlines to undertake CSR reporting, as well as barriers to this reporting. The literature review, which provides the foundation for this research, also offers concrete insights into social and environmental reporting in the airline industry. Potentially influential factors for CSR reporting in the airline industry were specifically identified, andtheir significance was also examined. An enhanced understanding of related barriers and motivators should assist policymakers and company executives in their strategic decision-making with regards to CSR reporting.