Corporate social responsibility in the time of COVID-19 pandemic: An exploratory study of developing country corporates

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Abstract

COVID-19 pandemic has long-lasting consequences on the health, economic and social life of a country (He & Harris, 2020). In a developing country like India, the socio-economic disruption has led to collaborative action between the central government and state government machinery together with the development sector to curb the impact caused by the virus. Academia substantiates the symbiotic relationship existing between the business and the society (McGuire, 1963; Carroll & Shabana, 2010). The corporates are contributing towards alleviating the pandemic situation through their corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities (Mahmud, Ding, & Hasan, 2021). This article provides insights into the CSR strategies adopted by corporates in India during the COVID-19 pandemic through exploratory research. The study is based on semi-structured interviews of 27 CSR managers involved in strategizing and implementation of CSR activities in their respective organizations. The results outline the commitment shown by corporates towards alleviating the consequence of the virus by multiple CSR strategies. Thus, this research furthers the understanding of CSR and forms a base for future research on COVID-19 and CSR.

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility, COVID-19 Pandemic, CSR Strategies, Mandatory CSR

Authors’ individual contribution: Conceptualization — P.G. and B.K.; Methodology — P.G.; Software — P.G.; Validation — P.G.; Formal Analysis — P.G.; Investigation — P.G.; Resources — P.G. and B.K.; Data Curation — P.G.; Writing — Original Draft — P.G.; Writing — Review & Editing — B.K.; Visualization — P.G.; Supervision — B.K.; Project Administration — P.G. and B.K.

Declaration of conflicting interests: The Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

JEL Classification: M14

Received: 19.05.2021
Accepted: 01.10.2021
Published online: 06.10.2021

How to cite this paper: Gokarna, P., & Krishnamoorthy, B. (2021). Corporate social responsibility in the time of COVID-19 pandemic: An exploratory study of developing country corporates. Corporate Governance and Sustainability Review, 5(3), 73–80. https://doi.org/10.22495/cgsrv5i3p6