Dr Prosanjit Saha
Academic and research departments
Centre for Sustainability and Wellbeing in the Visitor Economy, Surrey Hospitality and Tourism Management.About
My research project
Evaluating the efficacy of tourism social entrepreneurship: a blended value evaluation frameworkSocial enterprises are increasingly emerging in the tourism sector over the last decade together with private industry, government institutions and charities. It delivers an operational stimulus for tourism ventures to create net positive social values on host communities through shifting the ongoing orientation of volume growth towards a broader stakeholder flourishing.
Scholars increasingly claim that tourism creates and delivers the blended values (economic, social and environmental values) for the host community. However, these rhetoric claims that tourism always brings about good for the community are rarely been supported by empirical results and tend to overemphasize positive outcomes. Given this context, there is a crucial need to better understand the nature of blended value, a focal theory and a framework for evaluating the impacts of Tourism Social Enterprises.
To fill these voids in the literature, this study aims to develop a blended value evaluation framework that provides evidence on whether, how and why Tourism Social Entrepreneurship (TSE) initiatives are contributing to social change by evaluating the processes, influences and impacts of TSE’s blended value creation activities. This framework will apply the theory-based evaluation (contribution analysis) and participatory evaluation method along with social movement theory to justify how social changes occur and why.
Social enterprises are increasingly emerging in the tourism sector over the last decade together with private industry, government institutions and charities. It delivers an operational stimulus for tourism ventures to create net positive social values on host communities through shifting the ongoing orientation of volume growth towards a broader stakeholder flourishing.
Scholars increasingly claim that tourism creates and delivers the blended values (economic, social and environmental values) for the host community. However, these rhetoric claims that tourism always brings about good for the community are rarely been supported by empirical results and tend to overemphasize positive outcomes. Given this context, there is a crucial need to better understand the nature of blended value, a focal theory and a framework for evaluating the impacts of Tourism Social Enterprises.
To fill these voids in the literature, this study aims to develop a blended value evaluation framework that provides evidence on whether, how and why Tourism Social Entrepreneurship (TSE) initiatives are contributing to social change by evaluating the processes, influences and impacts of TSE’s blended value creation activities. This framework will apply the theory-based evaluation (contribution analysis) and participatory evaluation method along with social movement theory to justify how social changes occur and why.