Abstract
The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has undoubtedly brought a lot of disruptions into the world order—lives, livelihoods, national, and international economies and imposed what is now permeating as the “new normal” in all aspects of human activities. In Africa, the combination of severe health and economic crisis has forced governments to resort to issuing different fiscal and monetary measures as they grapple with the debilitating effects of COVID-19 pandemic on their people and economies, struggle to manage economic recessions, and prepare for a post-COVID-19 regeneration. For businesses, the impacts have not been less disruptive as the shocks and waves of uncertainties continue. As corporations battle to survive and sustain business continuity, the rates of corporate bankruptcy and insolvency mid and post COVID-19 remain speculative and uncertain. Yet the strategic roles of modern corporations in the socio-economic development of society, given the sheer volume of their economic resources alone—something that now makes some corporations more economically powerful than some states, have long been established. Drawing insights from the stakeholder’s theories of corporate governance and corporate social responsibility (CSR), this article examines the implications of COVID-19 for corporate governance and CSR, as well as the responses of corporations in Africa to deal with, support, and complement governments’ efforts in combating the pandemic’s menaces. It attempts to outline some of the challenges and significant improvements that are necessary to shape the future of corporate laws and legal reforms in Africa. The article concludes that sound corporate governance practice and corporate investment in CSR can help to shape the performance and resilience of corporations in Africa to adverse shocks such as the present COVID-19 pandemic.
Highlights
The view expressed by the famous Nobel Laureate Economist, Milton Friedman, in a 1970 piece in the New York Times that social responsibility of a corporation is to make money for its shareholders, and that anything to the contrary was a “subversive” threat to the very foundation of a free enterprise society (Friedman, 1970), held sway for a long time to justify the rejection of the idea of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and failure of corporations to play significant roles in the socio-economic development of their society
The article concludes that sound corporate governance practice and corporate investment in CSR can help to shape the performance and resilience of corporations in Africa to adverse shocks such as the present COVID-19 pandemic
While the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are primarily concerned by cash flow outlook, the large companies are challenged by the need to adapt their business models to the crisis. With such attention on survival and business continuity, it has been difficult to have any properly coordinated response beyond haphazard corporate philantrophy or charitable giving that has characterised the activities of most companies that can still afford to give at this time
Summary
The view expressed by the famous Nobel Laureate Economist, Milton Friedman, in a 1970 piece in the New York Times that social responsibility of a corporation is to make money for its shareholders, and that anything to the contrary was a “subversive” threat to the very foundation of a free enterprise society (Friedman, 1970), held sway for a long time to justify the rejection of the idea of CSR and failure of corporations to play significant roles in the socio-economic development of their society. Part V concludes the article and notes there should be proper integration of sound corporate governance practice and CSR into the corporate laws (statutes) and practices in African countries
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
