Internal Corporate Social Responsibility in Hotel Companies: Ethical Organizational Design, Accountability Mechanisms, and Responsible Governance

This study examines how Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) can contribute to the development of a responsible governance orientation in hotel companies located in inland tourism destinations through internal organizational capabilities. Unlike approaches focused primarily on the external dimension of CSR, this research directs attention to the internal mechanisms that enable responsible commitments to be transformed into ethical, verifiable, and sustained management practices. Drawing on stakeholder theory and the resource-based view, the proposed model analyzes the effects of ethical organizational design, internal CSR implementation, and accountability and evaluation mechanisms on responsible hotel governance orientation. The empirical analysis is based on a sample of 112 hotel managers in Extremadura, Spain, and uses partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), complemented by a multigroup analysis based on hotel category. The results show that ethical organizational design is the model’s primary antecedent, positively influencing internal CSR implementation, accountability and evaluation mechanisms, and responsible hotel governance orientation. Internal CSR implementation and accountability and evaluation mechanisms also act as explanatory pathways linking ethical structures to responsible governance. The multigroup analysis reveals distinct patterns across hotel categories, particularly in the relationships associated with ethical organizational design. At the practical level, this study offers guidance for strengthening responsible management in hotel companies through ethical structures, internal training, and continuous monitoring and improvement systems.