Ethics and corporate social responsibility as practised by 5-star hotels across the Maltese islands

Abstract

This paper associates corporate social responsibility (CSR) to the superior hotel industry in Malta and Gozo. This study seeks to investigate whether the employees of said hotels carry out CSR initiatives, and if so, in which way they do so. It also seeks to explore the employees’ thoughts and views on the matter in order for these activities to be carried out regularly and in a proper manner. By utilising qualitative research methods the study analyses whether CSR does, in fact, benefit hotels both directly and indirectly. It also shows that the representative sample implements these initiatives whilst maintaining an ethical stance. This suggests that companies carrying out CSR initiatives whilst maintaining moral integrity, will not only benefit the company financially in the long-run but will also benefit the environment, society, staff members and improve customer satisfaction. "The pessimists among us would think that CSR is impossible to achieve in Malta, that it is yet another fanciful notion. Yet industrialists, know that they depend on consumer trust." (Borg, 2009)