Corporate social responsibility and COVID-19: Research implications

Considering the unprecedented event of COVID-19 as both global public health and economic crisis, its impacts on society including businesses are almost unimaginable. In particular, since the tourism and hospitality industries are among the hardest hit, tourism and hospitality researchers should examine how to understand its implications for these industries. This article takes a view from the corporate social responsibility (CSR) standpoint in relation to the current pandemic and attempts to provide some research implications, especially from the financial economics and strategic management perspectives. Potential research topics discussed in the article include emerging CSR initiatives throughout the pandemic, a comparison between pre- and post-pandemic financial implications of CSR, a moderating role of CSR strategy, various performance measures including risk measures, and culture and industry as boundary conditions.