Adoption of Circular Economy and Environmental Certifications: Perceptions of Tourism SMEs

Abstract

Tourism is one of the most important industries in the world. On the one hand, tourism activities provide a significant boost to many national economies but on the other hand, they severely impact the environment. Tourism SMEs are therefore needed to transform their activities from a linear economy to a circular economy (CE). However, the tourism industry has not yet shown a clear and decisive transition towards CE. There is no or very little academic discussion on why the tourism industry has not yet adopted CE and how tourism SMEs can adopt CE. In this context, we analyzed a sample of 256 tourism SMEs (hotels and accommodations, travel agencies, tour operators, and reservation service activities) based in Cyprus, France, Italy, and Spain. Our survey reveals a ruthless situation regarding the adoption of environmental certifications. There is a very low demand to adopt an environmental certification in the tourism industry. Moreover, the adoption of CE among tourism SMEs is not so high. The main factors that hinder the adoption of green or CE practices are lack of funds, lack of information about potential partners, and lack of skilled personnel. Nonetheless, many tourism SMEs perceive that CE adoption leads to various positive outcomes. Our study provides some suggestions to facilitate the transition towards CE in the tourism industry.

Antecedents of absorptive capacity in the development of circular economy business models of small and medium enterprises

“…ACAP but also dynamic capabilities and organisational behaviour (Bertassini et al, 2021) can be useful strategy to boost the transition journey. Integrating circular business models and adopting CE initiatives at firm level and along the supply chain (Ethirajan et al, 2020) is pivotal to pursue a new era of business strategies for environmental sustainability (Rehman Khan et al, 2021).…”

“…Using a multiple‐case study approach, in a previous work (Daddi et al, 2019), we focused on an Italian sample of three manufacturing sectors investigating paradoxical tensions and corporate sustainability. However, most research is based on large‐scale surveys (Khan et al, 2021) or single case (Marrucci et al, 2017). Considering that the theory is not easily grasped through quantitative measures and that focusing on a single case may be not representative, Stake (2005) suggested that a multiple‐case study is the best way to frame our study.…”

“…Using a multiple-case study approach, in a previous work (Daddi et al, 2019), we focused on an Italian sample of three manufacturing sectors investigating paradoxical tensions and corporate sustainability. However, most research is based on largescale surveys (Khan et al, 2021) or single case (Marrucci et al, 2017).…”

“…Although not specifically in relation to the CE, ACAP has been already framed with sustainability topics (Daddi et al, 2018;Pacheco et al, 2018;Walton et al, 2020). It has also been studied according to the main management strategies or issues such as environmental management systems (Todaro et al, 2020), process innovation (Jahan Khan et al, 2021) and environmental orientation in the consumption phase (Chan & Ma, 2020).…”

Circular Economy in tourism: Overview of recent developments in research

“…The hotel operators interpret CE as a resource and waste management toolbox to prevent these risks (Sorin & Sivarajah, 2021). In addition, the adoption of environmental certifications or other tools such as carbon footprint would allow tourism SMEs to foster CE (Khan et al, 2021). Although the CE research in tourism has focused on circular practices, the lack of deeper understanding of how companies can apply these in practice is criticised (del Vecchio et al, 2022;Pattanaro & Gente, 2017;Vargas-Sanchez, 2021).…”