Corporate social responsibility in tourism small and medium enterprises evidence from Europe and Latin America

• CSR has been mostly analyzed in the large manufacturing business context.
• This study aims to know how tourism SMEs take responsibility.
• In tourism SMEs altruism is the most important reason to be responsible.
• Tourism SMEs are introducing increasingly advanced CSR measures.
• There is a significant positive relationship between CSR and financial performance.

While there is a growing literature related with corporate social responsibility (CSR) in hospitality and tourism large firms, much remains to be done in the case of CSR in tourism small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In this paper we provide three studies regarding this particular aspect through the evidence present in different destinations: Catalonia, European natural parks and Chile. Among the conclusions that can be highlighted is the prevalence of altruism in the reasons for being responsible, the introduction of increasingly advanced measures or their impact on different business variables, and the link to financial performance.