Purpose This paper aims to explore the immediate proactive corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts undertaken by select organizations in India in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the approach they have adopted toward it. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 27 senior managers across top Bombay Stock Exchange indexed organizations from the manufacturing and services sector in India during the national COVID-19 pandemic lockdown between March and June 2020. Manual content analysis and the Gioia method were used to arrive at the insights. Findings Results of the analysis showcase the spirited immediate CSR measures undertaken by the select organizations in the broader interests of the community at large. The study also highlights the need for a paradox approach toward CSR strategy. Research limitations/implications Given that the present study adopts an exploratory qualitative research design, the scope for generalization is rather limited. Practical implications This paper classifies COVID-19 related initiatives undertaken by selected few top organizations in India and attempts to justify the need to opt for a paradox approach toward CSR strategy. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is one of the first few studies to have attempted to put forth a dialog at the intersection of COVID-19 and CSR with rich insights gained from qualitative data collected during India’s intense lockdown period and offering a different perspective with the inclusion of paradox theory into the discussion.

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Purpose Given the urgency in taking climate action, the purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework to drive corporate environmental responsibility (CER) through environmentally responsible decision making (ERDM) by incorporating two interventions, the accuracy of mental models (MM) of the key decision makers and green nudging. Design/methodology/approach Relevant theories in management, cognition and behavioral sciences are studied and leaned on to build this conceptual framework. Findings Our mind creates MM about the real world to illustrate what we think about the world and about how it works. MM are clouded with biases and misconceptions. These MM have a tremendous impact on our behavior. The authors present how increasing the accuracy of the MM of environmental phenomena leads to efficient sensemaking and directs an ERDM thereby contributing to the environmental responsibility gestures of an organization. Green nudges attack the choice architecture of the decision maker toward ERDM. Research limitations/implications This framework contributes to the literature on corporate social responsibility. It advances the theories at the intersection of business, economy and natural environment. The framework built with assumptions opens the scope for future research and empirical testing. Practical implications This framework contributes to practice by recommending implementable and sustainable interventions. The inaccuracies found may become the base for a sector-wise training program. Due to mimetic isomorphism, driving CER may reap policy implications. Originality/value This multi-level conceptual framework is the first to propose individual level drivers of organizational level outcome CER through MM of environmental phenomena of key decision makers and green nudging. The paper offers complementary interventions.

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Purpose This paper aims to investigate the level of environmental communication and the predominant themes of environmental initiatives and technologies used in India. Design/methodology/approach In this exploratory study, a manual content analysis was conducted using print and website data related to corporate environmental communication of 60 Indian companies listed in the Bombay Stock Exchange, representing the top thirty from manufacturing and information technology (IT) sector each. Findings The authors classified the level of importance based on seven attributes, distinguished between hard and soft disclosure and identified the prevalent environmental practices and technologies in each sector. The authors found that the environmental communication of the IT sector is technology-based than the manufacturing sector, but both are weak in acknowledging climate change. Practical implications Managers, across the two sectors, can make their organizations environmentally responsible by learning and applying the current practices/technologies and reap benefits by mimetic isomorphism or create competitive advantage. Originality/value Building on the theoretical and practical works in corporate sustainability and corporate social responsibility communication literature, the authors contribute to the stakeholder theory and voluntary disclosure theory. The findings of the study provide the much-needed base for future research that links the engineering and management community to take the scholarship further to prevent the climate crisis.