Corporate social responsibility in a pandemic

What is it about?

The COVID-19 pandemic struck unexpectedly, with vast medical, social, environmental, economic, and political implications. While the world is still grappling with impact of this event, businesses and their stakeholders are actively trying support each other through various means, one of these being diversified corporate social responsibility (CSR). In this paper, the authors aim to collect empirical data on how companies are responding as well as how they should respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. They have used the stakeholder theory perspective–which is a managerial mechanism that ensures the welfare of all the stakeholders of a company, such as its employees and customers, is looked after–to study CSR initiatives among the top companies in USA, gaining data from multiple sources, like press releases, newsletters, and letters. They found that these companies respected their stakeholders. They were working towards supporting people affected by the pandemic, as well as medical professionals, while ensuring work safety for their employees. They also offered paid leaves, quarantines, travel restrictions, bonuses, and other perks, and have made donations to foundations or non-profit organizations to support people and communities worldwide.

Featured Image

Photo by Lesly Juarez on Unsplash

Photo by Lesly Juarez on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The pandemic has resulted in millions of people suffering from inadequate health facilities, lack of wages, food, shelter, and joblessness. This paper highlights the use of CSR as an effective way to deal with these problems. KEY TAKEAWAY CSR can ensure that larger corporates contribute to mitigating the effects of global problems and disasters, like the COVID-19 pandemic. It is especially useful in dealing with problems that affect employees and stakeholders.