Abstract
The objective of this study was to analyze the early COVID-19 crisis management practices implemented in organizations based on a scoping review of relevant business articles published on this issue in newspapers and magazines between March and May 2020. In total, after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria on 2707 potentially relevant articles, 246 articles describing organizational initiatives to manage COVID-19 were selected and analyzed in detail. The results of this study highlight the opportunities and threats arising from the pandemic as well as the most innovative measures put in place, particularly in the areas of health, human resources management (HRM), work organization, social and environmental responsibility, and crisis management. The description of the main practices identified and their illustration through various examples show the importance of corporate sustainability in managing the pandemic and demonstrate the cross-cutting nature of this crisis, which affects most corporate functions simultaneously. This study also makes it possible to identify certain leaders’ approaches that can be considered exemplary or, in contrast, that should be avoided, while highlighting the paradoxes and difficulties of assessing corporate social responsibility in times of crisis.
Highlights
The objective of this study was to analyze the early COVID-19 crisis management practices implemented in organizations based on a scoping review of relevant business articles published on this issue in newspapers and magazines between March and May 2020
The analysis of the sectors covered by the articles shows the great diversity of activities and companies that have been involved in managing the COVID-19 crisis
The inclusion and exclusion criteria used in this scoping review did not allow for an analysis of initiatives implemented in other regions of the world, in Asian countries that were the first to be affected by the pandemic
Summary
The pandemic has created an endemic situation of uncertainty and confusion about risks to employees, measures and best practices that organizations should adopt, stakeholder pressures, government shutdown and recovery plans (including assistance to the most affected companies), the potential for new waves of contamination, and lasting changes forecasted for consumer habits [5,6,7]. These uncertainties are all the more difficult to manage because there are few in-depth studies on the subject and the information available is scarce, partial, and contradictory. These articles are scattered and, taken individually, the examples presented are rarely in-depth or significant
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