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The concepts of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and their link to the United Nations sustainable development goals (UN SDGs) are increasingly important, however prior research on this topic is limited, especially in the hospitality industry. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to greater knowledge on the subject and determine how other hospitality organizations should move forward the two topics were researched using a framework relating to the triple-bottom-line concept with reference to case studies of three hospitality corporations – Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Scandic Hotels AB and the Walt Disney Company.

Most large hotel corporations now report their CSR activities on their corporate websites, which is the most accessible format to find information on activities, and so secondary research was conducted to draw on this. Additional secondary research was undertaken from October 2019 – May 2020 using a number of journal databases including Sage Journals, Emerald Journals, the E-library of the UNWTO and Taylor and Francis Academic Journals. Third-party sites were also leveraged including CSR-Hub, The United Nations and Forbes.

While all three corporations mention their efforts in relation to the sustainable development goals, commitment on what activities contribute to which goals was difficult to discern. Furthermore, while there are some activities that all three contribute to, there are many best practices that could be shared across the industry.

Though the research was limited to secondary sources, the topic is largely unresearched and has the potential to suggest best-practices available more widely across the industry.

“What kind of culture does Walt Disney Company (WDC) want to create? This case uses the experiences of a young visitor to one of WDC's resort hotels to set the stage for an analysis of selecting, hiring, training, and retaining and how those practices are governed by the culture of a large American company. The situation provides an opportunity to explore human resource policies, organizational design as well as how all those elements reinforce the culture.

The case opens with an interaction between a young Animal Kingdom Lodge guest and an employee (or cast member as the company refers to employees). There were many different ways the exchange could have unfolded yet the experience was magical for the youngster. What made this exchange a memorable experience for this young guest? Would Walt Disney have been surprised?”

The purpose of this paper is to examine what the top three Orlando theme parks report about their corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities.

Through content analysis, web sites, annual reports, and CSR reports of the top three theme park companies in Orlando, namely, Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, and SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment were examined.

The top three theme parks in Orlando mainly reported their CSR activities in relation to environment, community, and customers. Their diversity policies, employee welfare programs and employee volunteerism were also widely reported. Walt Disney World seemed to provide the most detailed CSR reporting in all areas.

In addition to content analysis of web sites and CSR reports, future studies may look at a single company and try to collect data via interviews and surveys. In addition, this paper only offers a view of the theme park's CSR reporting, since, each of the companies do not have any form of verification of their CSR activities. Therefore, it should not attest to the performance of each theme park in such activities.

The research findings suggest that according to their reporting efforts the top three theme park companies in Orlando undertake and participate in various CSR activities and initiatives, which are important for the environment, local community, customers, and employees. However, their reporting and emphasis of certain CSR activities seem to vary. These companies can better publicize and promote their CSR activities. With rising awareness regarding CSR activities, it is important for the theme park industry to begin profiling their CSR efforts as part of their overall corporate and business strategies. Again creating a CSR department to oversee and coordinate all CSR activities would be helpful for theme park companies.

This is perhaps one of the first papers looking at CSR activities of theme park companies. It provides practical implications about reporting of CSR activities for theme parks. It is hoped that this paper stimulates further research into this area in the theme park industry.

This secondary source case is based mainly on legislative documents (that tracked the initiation and progress of the Parental Rights in Education bill that later became an Act), corporate documents (published by The Walt Disney Company) and news articles from publications such as The New York Times and Bloomberg. All sources are cited in the case narrative and as end notes.

In April 2022, The Walt Disney Company and its CEO, Robert Chapek, were at the center of a controversy over the company’s opposition to the State of Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill. The bill, dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by its critics, prohibited instruction on sexual identity and gender orientation in the state’s elementary schools. The controversy stemmed from Disney’s initial non-reaction to the bill and its later strident opposition and call for its repeal. Chapek was pressured by negative media publicity and employee disgruntlement on the one hand and adverse economic consequences for opposing the bill by the state’s Governor, Ron DeSantis. Chapek and the Board had to respond to the political threats to Disney’s economic well-being while appeasing its employees and other stakeholders who wanted the company to be a corporate champion in diversity, equity and inclusion.

The case is best suited for advanced undergraduate or graduate leadership, strategic management and marketing courses. From a leadership and strategic management perspective, the case is well-suited for demonstrating the evolving expectations of leaders and corporate social responsibility, as well as the concepts of issue framing and nonmarket management. Instructors may also leverage the case in marketing courses (e.g. brand management), as CEO activism (i.e. messaging and practice) is one characteristic of brand activism (Animation Guild, 2022).

This case concerns the troubles that Euro Disney experienced from the start. Euro Disney claimed that the major cause of its poor financial performance was the European recession and the strong French franc. The timing of the park's opening could not have been more inopportune. If the recession had been the only cause of Euro Disney's problems, the financial restructuring would only need to carry the park forward to better economic times. Only when Europeans began spending freely again would investors learn the answers to some uncomfortable questions: Was the whole idea of Euro Disney misconceived? Were there other fundamental cultural problems that could inhibit the park's success? Would Euro Disney fail to recover even though other European companies did? And, if so, why was the Disney theme-park concept successful in Japan and not in France?

In 1989, the Walt Disney Company financed its major European theme park and real estate development using a variety of financing tools and techniques that, when bundled together, amounted to a project financing. The case recounts the details of this financing and invites students to evaluate the financing from various standpoints, including those of the Walt Disney Company, the government of France, European equity investors, and European banks. The resulting opinion about the attractiveness of the project ultimately hinges on beliefs about European market demand for an American-style theme park. The case may be used to exercise students' skills in valuation analysis, to illustrate techniques for financing major real-property projects, and to explore the creation and transfer of wealth in such projects.

Discusses the policies of the Walt Disney Company in respect of its commitment to employee training and recognition. Explores the many ways in which employees (cast members) are made to feel an essential part of the company, particularly in reinforcing the company policy that every day is a show. Outlines the world‐wide training programme, highlighting Disney familiarization classes, Professional Development programmes, Cast Development, Clerical Development, Career Development, Personal/Professional Development, and Computer Software Training. Explores cast priorities as developed in accordance with a list made up by customers and mentions the quarterly Spirit of Disneyland awards, in which any cast member may nominate another who exemplifies the Disney spirit.

The strategic and tactical problems of managing the operations function in a service environment can be examined through the context of the Walt Disney Company (DIS) opening Shanghai Disneyland. The company and its investors were excited about the Shanghai opening for a good reason: demographics. The resort would be located in the Pudong district of Shanghai, easily the wealthiest of all of China’s districts. A massive 330 million people lived with a three-hour driving radius of the resort site, compared with 19.6 million who lived within the same radius at DIS’s most profitable park, Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Still, risks remained. Construction complications had delayed the opening almost a year longer than expected and cost overruns and alterations had increased the final price tag of the project. The Chinese economy had also hit a rough patch following the Chinese stock market slump in the summer of 2015. With the world watching, could the classic Disney theme park experience be delivered with the right cultural balance to appeal to its largely Chinese customers? Could DIS get it right?

This article posits a paradigm of levels of success for strategic decision outcomes. A high level of strategic decision success is normally preceded by a positive strategic gap in which the strengths of the organization clearly outweigh its weaknesses. Three comprehensive cases are set forth as practical applications to illustrate and confirm the paradigm of levels of strategic decision success. Philip Morris’s decision in 1984 to diversify into the food processing industry is proffered as the epitome of a highly successful strategic choice. General Motors’ decision in 1978 to reinvent the corporation is advanced as a hallmark of a marginally successful strategic outcome. And Walt Disney’s decision in 1996 to acquire Capital Cities/ABC is cited as an example of a strategic choice with an indeterminately successful outcome. The conclusions in all three cases are supported by current research findings.

Creativity can be one of the key drivers in business today. At the Walt Disney Company, creativity is not just a tool or a technique to increase productivity; it is the heart of the business. The creative process is practiced and nurtured at Disney, and the application of a similar approach could dramatically impact businesses in a multitude of industries.