Investigating the Interplay Among Business Strategy, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Firm Performance in the Tourism Industry With Meta Chance‐Constrained <scp>DEA</scp> and Path Analysis

ABSTRACT Drawing on the resource‐based view and instrumental stakeholder theory, this study examines the direct relationships among business strategy, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and firm performance, as well as the indirect effects of business strategy on performance through CSR in the tourism industry using a comprehensive path analysis. Data were collected from Thomson Reuters and the Market Capitalization databases, covering 112 leading tourism firms from 2017 to 2021 (totaling 560 firm‐years). Addressing the limitations of conventional data envelopment analysis (DEA) models, this study proposes a novel meta chance‐constrained DEA model with a range directional measure to assess eco‐efficiency and marketability efficiency within a metafrontier framework. Findings suggest that business strategy directly and indirectly influences firm performance, particularly through the mediating environmental dimension of CSR. Specifically, firms pursuing a cost leadership strategy exhibit lower environmental performance, resulting in diminished eco‐efficiency and marketability efficiency. These findings provide valuable insights for tourism industry managers, emphasizing the need to balance cost leadership strategies with environmental efforts to optimize overall performance and highlighting the crucial mediating role of environmental initiatives in enhancing firm outcomes. This study contributes to the tourism literature by offering methodological advancements and highlighting the trade‐offs between a cost leadership strategy and environmental responsibility.