Corporate Social Responsibility during COVID-19 Pandemic

Isabel-María García-Sánchez,Alejandra García-Sánchez

doi:10.3390/joitmc6040126

Isabel-María García-Sánchez, Alejandra García-Sánchez

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/joitmc6040126

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Abstract

The health, economic, and social consequences of the SARS-CoV-2 virus have highlighted the need for collaboration among all agents to face a scenario that we have not before seen. The aims of this paper are to analyze the involvement that large Spanish companies have shown during the toughest moments of the epidemic and to determine the objectives these companies have pursued with them. The results show that several firms have shown a great commitment with society, developing actions that alleviate the consequences of the COVID-19 like others have developed several strategies with different objectives. More concretely, three clusters of responsibility have been identified: (i) protecting only the interests of shareholders and investors; (ii) favoring the wellbeing of the Spanish society in general and vulnerable groups in particular; and (iii) combining the previous altruistic actions with commercial interests.

Highlights

The SARS-CoV-2 virus have generated significant health, economic and social risks due to we were only able to use restraints on mobility and economic activity aimed to contain its spread.More concretely, the global pandemic by COVID-19 has led to more than 32.5 million cases and more than 989,000 deaths as the end of September 2020
To determine the corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies that companies have carried out in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, we selected the 159 companies listed on the Madrid Stock Exchange as the target population because they are the companies with the greatest capacities and resources to promote CSR actions that benefit all of Spanish society [48]
From the analysis of the contents of the information provided by the companies in relation to their actions against the COVID-19 pandemic, Table 4 summarizes the actions carried out by the companies, categorizing them according to the impact they have on the identified stakeholders: investors, employees, clients, suppliers and collaborators, and society

Summary

Introduction

The SARS-CoV-2 virus have generated significant health, economic and social risks due to we were only able to use restraints on mobility and economic activity aimed to contain its spread.More concretely, the global pandemic by COVID-19 has led to more than 32.5 million cases and more than 989,000 deaths as the end of September 2020. 2008 crisis, quantifying a drop in the GDP by between 2 to 3 points for each month of confinement [1,2], causing the loss of more than 195 million jobs [3] This situation leads to the appearance of serious social problems for many families and significant liquidity and survival problems for SMEs. This situation leads to the appearance of serious social problems for many families and significant liquidity and survival problems for SMEs In this harsh scenario, we have witnessed temporary layoffs due to CEOs’ decisions who either want their companies to bear the least economic difficulties, or they seek to plan for a gloomy medium-term future. The current situation derived from the epidemic, in general terms, has made it clear that many companies’ behaviors have been exemplary, namely adapting their corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies and actions to current health, economic, and social needs [4]

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