Purpose: Corporations are under increasing pressure to communicate their position and policies with regards to corporate social responsibility (CSR), informing consumers about the corporations’ good intentions and actions to appear trustworthy. Corporations have been asked to engage in dialogue with their consumers. However, academic literature still lacks empirical research that examines how consumers react to asymmetric versus symmetric communication strategies.Design/methodology/approach: The present paper closes this gap and evaluates how consumers react to different CSR communication approaches on social media, specifically on Twitter. The study is based on a sample of 507 respondents in the UK, representing a well-educated population of social media users. The sample was divided into two sub-samples, one receiving a set of tweets with an asymmetric CSR communication approach (N= 242) and the other one with a symmetric CSR communication approach (N= 265).Findings: The main finding of this study is that an asymmetric communication approach performs generally better than a symmetric communication approach. However, consumers’ involvement and their own personal information processing mechanisms also play a significant role when evaluating the trustworthiness of corporations.Originality/value: The paper provides insights into how corporations should communicate with consumers on Twitter and what characteristics they should take into consideration to achieve consumer trust.

When the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were proposed, they provided a reality check, questioning the ways in which organisations were addressing the needs of society and the planet, across all sectors worldwide. In response, this study contributes to SDG 12, Responsible Production and Consumption, more specifically considering support for restaurant owners as they transition into environmentally focused and sustainable operations, in particular with the proposal of a researched and informed sustainability toolkit. To understand the factors underpinning successful sustainability practices in restaurants, we utilise the motivation, opportunity, and ability (MOA) framework, applying a two-step focus group methodology. The first focus group included restaurant owners/managers who had effectively applied sustainable operational practices. For the second focus group, we utilised MOA factors uncovered in the first group as discussion points to engage with restaurant owners/managers who had yet to embrace environmentally sustainable practices in order to understand the reasons preventing them from applying sustainability practices. Continuous networking and dynamic support were highlighted as crucial elements needed by restaurant owners to enable them to adopt and fruitfully implement sustainable practices. Theoretical contributions include the value of the MOA framework for evaluating sustainability practices, informing the development of a sustainability toolkit, and its suitability as a framework to support non-chain tourism businesses in developing practices to support sustainability, inclusivity, and access.

This research examines Champing, a new niche tourism phenomenon, enjoyed by over 10,000 people, that until now has not been examined in academic literature. The study analyses how Champing markets itself and is perceived by users to evaluate its proposition and its possible categorization as a form of camping and staycation. The research also explores Champing’s potential to contribute to more authentic and experiential forms of tourism and a possible solution to the challenges of overtourism. A netnographic approach was adopted, combining content analysis from the Champing website with thematic analysis of over 142 ‘Champers’ reviews of their Champing experience. The website content and thematic analysis highlights how Champing is promoted through heritage narratives, minimalist facilities, and links to local cultural and natural attractions through three core themes: Peaceful, Explore, and Novel and New. Findings position Champing as a niche tourism product that extends the camping and staycation portfolio. Analysis highlights how Champing aligns with policy objectives of local economies and heritage and as an option to mitigate against overtourism and foster experiential travel. This paper provides the first empirical analysis of Champing and extends research on camping and staycations; and it demonstrates the value of Netnography to tourism practices research.