Corporate social responsibility in times of financial crisis

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of financial crisis on the number and extent of CSR projects. It is presumed that, during a financial crisis, as organizations act more conservatively and defensively (Cheney et al., 1990), they fail to balance the expectations of related parties. Therefore, organizations might choose not to engage in CSR projects. To study this, globally operating companies listed in Fortune 500 were examined by using paired sample t tests on 100 randomly-sampled global companies from the list of Fortune 500. Overall, it was found that there is significant drop in numbers and extent of CSR projects in times of financial crisis. The study contributes to the literature by initiating discussions on CSR and the ways they are affected by financial crisis.   Key words: Corporate social responsibility, financial crisis, contract theory.