Facing the storm: Lessons from corporate social responsibility during the covid pandemic

Abstract

AbstractThis study analyzes the impact on the sustainability performance of firms during the outbreak of the COVID‐19 pandemic, based on microdata made available by the World Bank through the Enterprise Surveys platform. By employing econometric estimation techniques like multinomial limited dependent variable model alongside data visualization tools, this analysis provides insights into the effects of the pandemic outbreak, as well as the moderating influence of enterprise innovation levels and CSR. The findings highlight that the duration of firm operations and company size play significant roles in mitigating turnover during the initial response to the pandemic. The analysis evaluates the actions taken by companies and governments to navigate the crisis, one and a half years after its appearance: containing the impact has a strong social impact, related to corporate social responsibility. The companies that successfully contained the shock and recovered more quickly are those that relied on innovation through their private investments or government measures. The analysis reveals how evenly distributed government subsidies have failed to produce significant effects.