Business and Society Research in Times of the Corona Crisis

Abstract

No crisis in recent history has shaken the world the way coronavirus has. Starting at the end of 2019 in a province in China, it is poised to reach every corner of the world, if it has not already done so at the time of our writing of this commentary (end of March 2020). The spread of this pandemic in the span of a few months is a clear testament that we now live in a global village that is fully interconnected. As cities, states, and countries are locking down and limiting economic activity to the bare minimum, the costs of this crisis to humans, businesses, and societies are just unfolding. Medical researchers are working overtime to find a cure, and economists are attempting to avert a recession. As coeditors of Business & Society, we watch these developments and wonder: What should business researchers and educators do, if anything, besides shifting and adapting their teaching to an online mode? The role and relevance of business research in addressing any societal concern is difficult to fathom for many of our colleagues conducting research on mainstream business topics, but it is not so for scholars working on topics at the intersection of business and society. If nothing else, this crisis underscores the fundamental premise of our field: the interdependence of business and society (Editorial, 1960). What binds business and society scholars is a central belief that businesses need to consider societal implications of their actions, respond to societal concerns, and play a positive role in society, more broadly. What the current crisis will eventually mean to individuals, businesses, and societies is very uncertain at the time of this writing and may remain so for a long time to come. Yet, everyone is trying to make sense of and respond to the crisis as it evolves. So, it is only natural that we do the same as business and society scholars. In that spirit, we attempt to dwell on what this crisis means for business and society research and what new questions it raises. Our commentary is neither a definitive nor exhaustive coverage of these issues; rather, it is meant to be a conversation starter among business and society scholars, and hopefully among the broader business research community interested in addressing grand societal challenges (George et al., 2016).