Stakeholder Theory In The Hotel Industry

Stakeholder theory gained momentum and increased in significance during the mid-1980s. According to Freeman (as cited by Appiah, 2016) stakeholder theory contributed to reconceptualizing the fundamental manner through which firms operated, and leaders behaved, with the focus shifting toward external stakeholders. Foster & Jonker stated that the introduction of the stakeholder theory helped change the way in which organizations operated when the emphasis had historically been on internal stakeholders, in which the stakeholder theory altered this operation and implied relevance to external groups and communities (as cited by Appiah, 2016) Simmons said that with the advent of the stakeholder theory, organizations were compelled to assume greater

One key CSR strategy was stakeholder involvement in socially responsible causes and the power exerted by organizations in socially relevant causes according to Claydon & Doyle (as cited by Appiah, 2016). Greenwood (as cited by Appiah, 2016) said that employees were the 41 most essential and primary stakeholder groups; hence, employee involvement is likely to lend legitimacy to the causes taken up by organizations. Stakeholder theory has been used to inform research in the hotel industry, where stakeholder groups are classified as internal or external. Most organizations, including hotels, have a complex structure according to Jones & Lockwood (as cited by Appiah, 2016) with various types of engagements or activities. Those undertakings in the hotel industry included accommodations, meeting space rentals, restaurants, leisure, and community involvement. Altinay and Miles (as cited by Appiah, 2016) suggested that stakeholders are a uniform group who display individual forms of stakeholder relationships. Many theorists have identified stakeholder groups, along with the expectations they hold according to Connolly; Johnson & Scholes; Kuratko,

Therefore, it is imperative that organizations recognize that the actions of management in stakeholder relationships could affect the business operations of hotels. Stakeholder theory expanded on the concept of CSR. The theory identified the various stakeholder groups that were influenced by the way an organization conducted business. Freeman (as cited by Appiah, 2016) said that many CSR activities have various degrees of importance to stakeholders in any organization. The interests of the traditional group of external stakeholders cannot be satisfied without satisfying the needs of internal stakeholders according to Foster & Jonker; Hawkins (as cited by Appiah, 2016). Among scholars, the different facets of job satisfaction included feelings toward a job, pay, benefits, supervision, coworkers, the work itself, organizational environment, and work conditions as stated by Biggs & Swaile; Fichter & Cipolla (as cited by Appiah, 2016). Aziri (as cited by Appiah, 2016) stated that employees were usually more productive, more stable, and had a better