PurposeThis study aims to outline the rationale for the theme issue question and introduces articles written by MBA students at Les Roches Global Hospitality Education, Switzerland. The issue provides best practice examples of corporate social responsibility in hospitality settings and explores the outcomes and implications for employee quality of life.Design/methodology/approachThis study provides a descriptive review of the theme issue approach and the ways in which industry case study examples have been integrated with a review of literature to analyse the ways in which corporate social responsibility initiatives are increasingly focusing on work–life balance and quality of life considerations.FindingsDuring their analysis and case study research, the MBA group found that the provision for quality of life outcomes has been enhanced in recent years by hospitality and tourism firms, and that since the onset of the pandemic, momentum has been building. Yet, a bigger and more complex question relates to work–life balance – a critical component of quality of life outcomes – and whether it is transferable to society as a whole.Originality/valueThe aim of this theme issue is to explore the linkages between work–life balance, corporate social responsibility and the concept of circular economic thinking and how this impacts on quality of life. The authors argue that by better understanding these relationships, it is possible to contribute to the longer-term goal of sustainability and sustainable development. In part, this is because work life provisions are not only applicable at the micro level (firms) but also at the macro level (society), the latter through enhanced focus on circular economic thinking and practice.

Reflections on the theme issue outcomes: Work-life balance: How can quality of life provisions be integrated with the corporate social responsibility initiatives of hospitality firms

The pandemic brought many challenges, stress and difficulties and, for many individuals and institutions, an unprecedented uncertainty levels. Many countries are still moving from relaxing to tightening lock-downs. While causing major disruptions, VUCA situations provide important and acute lessons. Our symposium brings together an international group of authors whose four papers (spanning quantitative, qualitative and case study methodologies) that investigated how students, academics and business schools responded to the challenges brought by the pandemic. The four papers discuss complimentary issues: Swiss school faculty emotional reactions and gaining resilience; the challenges that lecturers in Canadian business schools using Experiential Learning faced when attempting to translate those methods to the virtual classroom; how lecturers used a Transformative Learning Pedagogy approach to design a doctoral research methods course delivered online in the US; and an analysis of several ethical dilemmas that faced a leading Indian business school and how they were met. The insights that these scholars bring are relevant not only for the changes in teaching modes brought about by the pandemic but for a host of unexpected situations faced in an increasingly VUCA world. Exploring the Lived Experiences of Faculty Negotiating the Challenges of Remote and HyFlex Delivery Presenter: Ruth Puhr; Les Roches Global Hospitality Education Presenter: Rachel Germanier; Les Roches Global Hospitality Education The Experience of Integrating Experiential Learning into Online Courses amid the Covid-19 Pandemic Presenter: Melanie Ann Robinson; HEC Montreal Presenter: Marine Agogue; HEC Montreal Presenter: John Edward Fiset; Memorial U. of Newfoundland Presenter: Chantale Mailhot; HEC Montreal On Becoming a Qualitative Researcher: Transformative Learning Pedagogy in an Online Research Course Presenter: Kathy Dee Geller; Fielding Graduate U. Presenter: Kristine Lewis Grant; Drexel U. Presenter: Joy C. Phillips; Drexel U. Moral and Ethical Dilemmas during the Rapid Transition to Synchronous Online Teaching Presenter: Vasanthi Srinivasan; Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore Presenter: Sourav Mukherji; Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore

PurposeThis study aims to summarize and review the contributions made to the theme issue and observe that synergistic relationships between micro and macro levels of corporate social responsibility initiatives are needed to enable quality of life measures to be embedded in circular economic thinking and practice.Design/methodology/approachThis study reviews the contributions made by each article in the theme issue with reference to case study examples of contemporary corporate social responsibility initiatives implemented in hospitality and tourism settings.FindingsThis theme issue sought to showcase how work–life balance provisions help to stabilize employee turnover, and that further to this, quality of life enhancements via corporate social responsibility initiatives at the micro or company level can stimulate circular economic strategies at the macro or societal level. This can play a key role in securing the Sustainable Development Goals, especially Goal number 3 (good health and well-being).Originality/valueThis summary argues that enhanced corporate social responsibility initiatives could shorten the journey to sustainability by focusing on improving societal and personal levels of quality of life. Only then will work–life balance measurements become more transferable from micro to macro perspectives through circular economic thinking and action. Hence, it is clear that work–life provisions are powerful drivers in the journey toward sustainability.

This paper explores the preparation of hospitality management students for the workplace in the context of a global health crisis. In an intrinsic mixed methods case study, student perspectives are used to problematize and evaluate conceptualizations and terminologies. The study recommends that employability, a dualistic and politicised term, be replaced by the intrinsic construct of work readiness and finds that competencies, work integrated learning and perceived relevance of the degree play instrumental roles in delivering work readiness. Context-specific and regularly updated competency frameworks are recommended. Capability emerges as a powerful and often overlooked construct.