Business and Society Research in Times of the Corona Crisis

No crisis in recent history has shaken the world the way coronavirus has. Starting at the end of 2019 in a province in China, it is poised to reach every corner of the world, if it has not already done so at the time of our writing of this commentary (end of March 2020). The spread of this pandemic in the span of a few months is a clear testament that we now live in a global village that is fully interconnected. As cities, states, and countries are locking down and limiting economic activity to the bare minimum, the costs of this crisis to humans, businesses, and societies are just unfolding. Medical researchers are working overtime to find a cure, and economists are attempting to avert a recession. As coeditors of Business rather, it is meant to be a conversation starter among business and society scholars, and hopefully among the broader business research community interested in addressing grand societal challenges (George et al., 2016).