Search results

From a hospitality and tourism perspective, the purpose of this study is to analyse the case of Jordan by looking at the implementation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices in the hospitality industry and their contribution to the management of the pandemic crisis, with a special focus on large hotels.

The method focuses on a qualitative study based on ten in-depth interviews with senior managers of five-star hotels in Jordan, fully used as quarantine facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The study reveals how and why the implementation of CSR practices contributes to the crisis management in Jordan, also highlighting the role of the managers and the hotels’ organizational cultures.

Drawing from the unique case of Jordan, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study which analyses the close relationships between crisis and hospitality management from a CSR perspective, and the impact of organizational cultures and ethical strategies on local stakeholders.

In this chapter we approach the issue of Business Diplomacy (BD) from a historical perspective, showing how this activity has been performed since the ancient Greece. In particular, we give a brief overview of the main BD concepts used, starting with the proxenos, the “pioneers” in the BD field, until present days.

The analysis is grounded on a theoretical approach backed by a comprehensive overview of the representative literature in the field of BD. We identify and discuss the main challenges to be faced by BD in a globalized world, dominated by multinational corporations (MNCs).

We show that BD has been practiced for centuries and nowadays is still performed by honorary consuls and chambers of commerce. In a globalized world, BD is being assimilated by MNCs either as their main activity or as an auxiliary one becoming a key tool and mindset toward securing their market reputation, positioning, and legitimacy.

Apart from the historical overview of the beginnings and evolution of the main diplomatic actors and activities, the chapter proposes new concepts and legal frameworks for the actual BD field such as: consulariate instead of consulate (devoted to business) and chancellariate instead of embassy (devoted to political affairs).

This chapter focuses on the role played by both companies and universities on the dissemination of services and courses related to Business Diplomacy (BD). Special attention is given to the partnerships between companies and universities and to how BD is taught by universities around the world.

With an exploratory analysis technique, we have surveyed the websites of 22 companies and 20 universities and institutions, belonging to various countries, engaged in activities related to BD (i.e. services supply, courses at different stages of the academic curricula, workshops, seminars, training etc.).

The objective of the analysis was twofold: first, to give a better understanding of the concept of BD and of the various meanings associated with it; the results indicate that in both cases the practiced concept of BD is converging to the canonical set of diplomatic functions; second, to offer useful insights to practitioners in the field of BD by looking at the type of BD courses covered by the academic curricula of various universities and BD services offered by market companies.

This chapter presents a comprehensive analysis of the BD issue, going beyond its treatment as a mere auxiliary activity. It also offers a detailed overview of diplomacy’s main functions and adjuvant activities, with the purpose of advancing organisational charts’ structures inside companies, and academic syllabi offerings by universities.