Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic and Corporate Social Responsibility: How are African Companies Faring?

Abstract

The novel coronavirus continues to affect individuals, businesses, and economies of many nations. Since the outbreak of the virus, companies have struggled to survive due to the various policies imposed by government to contain the pandemic. In addition, companies face immense pressure to provide Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to cushion the adverse effect of the pandemic on their employees, customers, and communities. This article explores employee, customer, and community CSR activities adopted by companies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the content analysis approach, the article identifies five major employee CSR and six customer and community CSR approaches that were prevalent during the period. The results show that the most common specific CSR practices include the donation of food and hygiene products, cash donations to the government, and the implementation of remote working, among other things. The research provides evidence that African companies seek to increase their corporate citizenship and legitimacy by engaging in several CSR activities in times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic © 2022 Common Ground Research Networks. All rights reserved.