CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY COMMUNICATION DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: COMPARISON BETWEEN BRAZILIAN AND BRITISH COMPANIES

Abstract

The beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic brought numerous changes to lifestyle, which led to the adoption of new consumption habits and new challenges to the market. Consumers have adapted their habits and especially consumption behavior, in this way organizations have also started to adapt their processes for their own survival and to support society to overcome this crisis. Thus, the purpose of this study is to analyze the communication of socially responsible companies about CSR initiatives in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, in addition to analyzing the reflection of cultural differences between Brazil and the United Kingdom in this communication. To achieve this objective, descriptive research was carried out by means of content analysis with secondary data from the websites of 62 Brazilian organizations indexed on the ISE B3 and British organizations indexed on the DJSI Europe. The companies' communications on their websites were analyzed using the OEEC Model, which is divided into 64 items in four categories: orientation, structure, ergonomics and content. The research concludes that the communication of CSR initiatives in response to Covid-19 are as effective as the communication of the organization's other CSR initiatives in both countries. Brazilian companies and British companies demonstrated average values within satisfactory performance of their website’s communication toward Covid-19 initiatives. Among the theoretical contributions of the study, the expansion of the discussion on Hofstede's cultural dimensions stands out. However, the present study also contributes to expanding the knowledge regarding to CSR practices in times of crisis.