Open Access Article

Title: Corporate Sustainability, Employee Engagement, Local Community Participation, Investor Commitment, and The Small and Medium Tourism Business Performance: The Case in Southern Provinces of Vietnam

Authors: Vo Thi Tam; Vo Vo Tan Phong

Addresses: Author address listing can be found in the "About the Authors" section at the end of the article.

Abstract: Purpose - The concept of corporate sustainability (COS) has recently been used to refer to a business approach to creating long-term value for its stakeholders. COS is a strategic model that harmoniously integrates economic, social, and environmental issues into business operations. The objective of the research is to determine and measure the influence of COS on the performance of small and medium-sized (SMS) tourism businesses and the mediating role of employee engagement (ENG), local community participation (COM), and investor commitment (INV) in this relationship. Method - This study uses a survey to collect data. The sample with 405 observations is collected by the non-probability method. The respondents are tourism business managers. Partial least squares path modeling (PLS-SEM) assesses the model and research hypotheses. Findings - Research results show a direct and indirect effect of ENG, COM, and INV on the performance of SMS tourism businesses in Southern provinces of Vietnam. Limitations - Local government policy is a crucial factor influencing SMS tourism businesses\' performance but has yet to be considered. The scope of this study needs to be broadened to generalize the findings and turn them into theory. Contributions to Literature - This research makes a valuable contribution to the existing literature by empirically investigating the impact of COS, ENG, COM, and INV on business performance (PER). Practical Implications - SMS tourism businesses can effectively allocate resources to important COS factors to strengthen ENG, COM, and INV to improve PER. Social implications - Research results can positively impact the stakeholders' awareness, attitudes, and behaviors toward sustainable tourism (SUT) development in areas, countries, and regions. Originality - This study examines the impact of the three pillars of COS and the behaviors of the main stakeholders on the PER. Furthermore, the study highlights the mediating role of ENG, COM, and INV in the relationship of COS and PER.

Keywords: Tourism business performance; corporate sustainability; community participation; employee engagement; investor commitment.

DOI: 10.1504/JBM.2024.141307

Journal of Business and Management, 2024 Vol.29 No.2, pp.61 - 100

Published online: 05 Sep 2024 *