A systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis of research on COVID‐19 in strategy journals

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) provides companies with an opportunity to contribute to addressing global challenges such as climate change, resource scarcity, wealth inequality, and fragile economic and political systems. Previous research has primarily focused on examining firm strategies and policies in response to these issues, but has paid limited attention to the involvement and role of employees in implementing CSR within organizations. By adopting a stakeholder theory perspective, this article aims to explore the perceptions and experiences of internal stakeholders regarding CSR initiatives. It also seeks to identify themes emerging from narrative interviews that are relevant to employees engaged in a transformative change process toward sustainability. The findings underscore the crucial role of employees as facilitators of CSR, highlight potential divergent perspectives on sustainability efforts, and recommend the inclusion and empowerment of employees in CSR initiatives. By doing so, organizations can effectively implement ecological sustainability and increasingly address social sustainability both within the firm and in the broader context.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological and social sustainable change through corporate social responsibility: The enabling role of employees

Kallmuenzer,

Kraus,

Bouncken

et al. 2023

“…To ensure that companies could be tracked for at least 3 years following the legal procedure without including the effects of the COVID‐19 pandemic in 2020, given its effects on the economy system (Guyottot & le Fur, 2023), only companies that had experienced legal events between 2012 and 2017 were included. This was done as to include only companies that could be tracked at least up to 3 years following the procedure without including 2020 as the pandemic may have impacted the financial results of the companies in the study.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The efficiency of preventive restructuring procedures: Evidence from France

Teti,

Tron,

Colantoni

et al. 2023

This article critically evaluates the effectiveness of the European Union's recent Directive on restructuring and insolvency law, specifically within the context of France, aimed at facilitating the restructuring of financially distressed firms within the Eurozone. Specifically, through the Kaplan–Meyer estimator and the log‐rank test, this research rigorously examines whether preventive restructurings surpass standard bankruptcy procedures in efficiency. The dataset under analysis is distinctly tailored, focusing on companies undergoing both types of restructuring procedures within the French jurisdiction. The study reveals that companies successfully undergoing a preventive restructuring procedure showcase higher survival rates, albeit coupled with weaker financial performances when compared to their counterparts undergoing the traditional bankruptcy process. This outcome challenges the prevalent assumption linking early‐stage restructuring with uniformly elevated survival rates and improved financial performance. A noteworthy concern stems from this observed trend, suggesting that the existence of discrete preventive restructuring procedures might inadvertently prolong the operational lifespan of financially inviable firms. This underscores the necessity for policymakers to meticulously craft preventive restructuring procedures, prioritizing debtor protection while proactively addressing the moral hazard predicament.

“…A decade later, the COVID-19 pandemics posed an economic and financial challenge for the entire world. Among these, one of the most interesting and debated challenges during the COVID-19 era concerns the sustainable performance of companies (Guyottot & le Fur, 2023).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A decade later, the COVID‐19 pandemics posed an economic and financial challenge for the entire world. Among these, one of the most interesting and debated challenges during the COVID‐19 era concerns the sustainable performance of companies (Guyottot & le Fur, 2023). Companies were forced to adapt to the new context making a wide range of strategic decisions in terms of its workforce, relocation of supply chain, or selection of investments (Al‐Fadly, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Creating value through diversity: Analysis of the strategic management of BoD diversity in favor of sustainable performance

Paolone,

Bifulco,

del Mar Perona Alfageme

2024

In this article, we explore the impact of the characteristics of the Board of Directors (BoD) on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance for European listed companies and its evolution during the period 2018/2021. The purpose of this study is to understand if and how the BoD characteristics influence the ESG performance of the major listed companies in the EU before and after the COVID‐19 breakthrough. The COVID‐19 pandemic is taken as a reference point in time, considering that several studies show that, even in a health crisis with economic repercussions for the whole world, companies have continued to increase their commitment to ESG practices. The sample is composed of 600 European listed companies and covers the period from 2018 to 2021. The ESG score and the other variables are collected for all companies included in the STOXX 600 index (from the Refinitiv Workspace database) and analyzed using the ordinary least square (OLS) panel regression analysis at country and industry level covering the period 2018–2021. The results of our analysis show no significant relationship between BoD characteristics (in terms of gender diversity, cultural diversity, and special skills) and ESG performance in the pre‐COVID‐19 era. In the post‐COVID‐19 era, gender diversity is the only characteristic of the BoD, among those investigated, capable of influencing nonfinancial performance. This result, in line with the resource density theory, is justified by the increase in the average number of women in the BoD in the two‐year period 2020–2021 compared to the previous one (2018–2019). We offer theoretical and practical implications to enhance ESG performance by combining BoD characteristics. We finally contribute to enhance the debate on the relevance of the BoD characteristics and ESG performance relationship providing consistent findings to emphasize the quality of the BoD for the ESG reporting and performance.