Social entrepreneurship and tourism in Cambodia: advancing community engagement

Abstract

Tourism scholars agree that social entrepreneurship has an important role to play in the adoption of financially sustainable strategies to achieve social aims and the responsible development of tourism. Yet little is known about how tourism-based social enterprises (TSEs) engage with local communities. This article aims to fill this void by addressing the question of what approaches to community engagement in tourism development are being encouraged by social entrepreneurship. The study focuses on TSE-led tourism initiatives in Cambodia where tourism is a key revenue sector. Based on case-study methodology, this article develops a typology of three distinct manifestations of TSEs showing varying levels of community engagement: (1) the cash cow, (2) community empowerment and (3) inclusive business model. The findings demonstrate that across the three models, TSEs contribute to new ways of ensuring that the poorest segments of society receive a greater share of benefits. This typology also captures the diversification of community engagement away from the established role of NGOs to a variety of independent social enterprises. However, due to fluctuations in tourist arrivals and lack of structural support for TSEs, it remains to be seen whether this transformation will advance the sustainable development of Cambodian communities.

Keywords:

• Community participation
• community development
• community tourism
• responsible tourism
• social entrepreneurship
• Cambodia

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and publication of this article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Heidi Dahles

Heidi Dahles, PhD, is adjunct professor at the Griffith Institute for Tourism (GIFT), Griffith University, Brisbane (Australia) and visiting professor at Cambodia Development Resource Institute (CDRI), Phnom Penh. Her research interest is in the interface of development, (social) entrepreneurship and tourism in Southeast Asia. She published over 40 chapters in edited volumes and 60 articles in peer-reviewed journals (such as Annals of Tourism Research, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Asia-Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, Journal of Enterprising Communities, Journal of Contemporary Asia). She actively engages with academic journals in the field of tourism and business as editorial board member and reviewer.

Sothy Khieng

Sothy Khieng, PhD, is a senior research fellow in the Education Unit at Cambodia Development Resource Institute (CDRI). He is a co-editor of Cambodia Education 2015: Employment and Empowerment, for which he did research on the technical training and skills development challenges faced by Cambodia and policy options for overcoming them. His wide-ranging research experience includes public health, cross-border trade, social enterprise and postsecondary education. As a visiting research fellow at Griffith University and University of Melbourne, Australia, he published peer-reviewed articles in VOLUNTAS and Journal of Social Entrepreneurship. He is currently teaching English-medium undergraduate and graduate courses on Issues in Development Studies and Nonprofit Management and Social Enterprise in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. He holds a PhD in Organization Sciences from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands and an MA in International Development Studies from Ohio University, USA, under the Fulbright Scholar Program.

Michiel Verver

Michiel Verver, PhD, is an assistant professor at the Department of Organization Sciences, VU Amsterdam, where he teaches courses on globalization and research methodology in the context of organizations. His academic expertise lies in the qualitative and ethnographic study of entrepreneurship, especially migrant and ethnic minority entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship among family businesses, and social entrepreneurship. He has conducted extensive research in Cambodia and published on Cambodia’s private sector dynamics as well as the country’s ethnic Chinese minority. His papers are published in top tier journals in the fields of Asian studies and entrepreneurship studies, including the Journal of Contemporary Asia, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice and Entrepreneurship & Regional Development.

Ireen Manders

Ireen Manders, M.A., holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Zuyd University, Maastricht, and a Master’s degree in Culture, Organization & Management at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Her Master’s thesis entitled “The promise of social entrepreneurship” focuses specifically on social entrepreneurship in Cambodia. In 2018, she conducted fieldwork in Cambodia. During three months, she engaged extensively with Cambodian and international social entrepreneurs and held in-depth interviews with multiple stakeholders in Cambodia’s tourism development. She is interested in social entrepreneurship, international development and education. She currently works as partner specialist for an international e-commerce company in Utrecht.