Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Activities and Communications in Response to the COVID Crisis: Evidence from the U.S.

This study investigates how corporations responded to the COVID-19 crisis through their fulfillment of corporate social responsibility (CSR). We quantitatively analyzed a total of 60 CSR news stories published during the year of 2020. We then provided context through the close readings of all 60 news stories. CSR news coverage was selected as the focal content because it is considered to be a more objective communication of CSR compared to corporations' selfdisclosed CSR reports. Results show that CSR was provided throughout the year as corporations' timely responses to the unprecedented pandemic. Specifically, corporations emphasized philanthropic CSR activities to support health issues. Their conventional commitments to promotional activities were still present but often criticized with a negative tone. Corporations' evergreen interest in environmental/sustainability issues and human/civic rights also remained but were relatively weakened during the pandemic. Further, CSR was primarily presented in a positive tone. The findings highlight that a public health crisis may render corporations to transform CSR into emergency and disaster relief. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]