IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v161y2023ics0148296323001418.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Firms’ responses to a black swan macro-crisis: Should they be socially responsible or fiscally conservative?

Author

Listed:
  • Bahmani, Navid
  • Bhatnagar, Amit
  • Gauri, Dinesh

Abstract

The crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic was unprecedented as it adversely affected everyone and represented a black swan event. Firms implemented marketing strategies to counter its negative effects. Some took a socially responsible approach by making monetary and in-kind contributions to customers, employees, and nonprofits. Others took a fiscally conservative approach by instituting employee pay cuts, layoffs, furloughs, and executive compensation cuts. Considering the magnitude and unique nature of the crisis, there is an important need to determine whether responding to it was financially beneficial, and if so, to identify the superior strategic approach. We therefore conducted an event study of firms that announced new strategies in response to this black swan macro-crisis. We find that investors rewarded agile firms that took swift action. However, investors preferred firms that chose to focus on their own survival by reducing costs and preserving cash flow through fiscally conservative strategies.

Suggested Citation

  • Bahmani, Navid & Bhatnagar, Amit & Gauri, Dinesh, 2023. "Firms’ responses to a black swan macro-crisis: Should they be socially responsible or fiscally conservative?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:161:y:2023:i:c:s0148296323001418
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.113783
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296323001418
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.113783?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wang, Yonggui & Hong, Aoran & Li, Xia & Gao, Jia, 2020. "Marketing innovations during a global crisis: A study of China firms’ response to COVID-19," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 214-220.
    2. Stefan J. Hock & Sascha Raithel, 2020. "Managing Negative Celebrity Endorser Publicity: How Announcements of Firm (Non)Responses Affect Stock Returns," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(3), pages 1473-1495, March.
    3. Hoje Jo & Maretno Harjoto, 2011. "Corporate Governance and Firm Value: The Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 103(3), pages 351-383, October.
    4. Dominik M. Wielgos & Christian Homburg & Christina Kuehnl, 2021. "Digital business capability: its impact on firm and customer performance," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 49(4), pages 762-789, July.
    5. Changhyun Kim & Richard A. Bettis, 2014. "Cash is surprisingly valuable as a strategic asset," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(13), pages 2053-2063, December.
    6. Shankar, Venkatesh & Kalyanam, Kirthi & Setia, Pankaj & Golmohammadi, Alireza & Tirunillai, Seshadri & Douglass, Tom & Hennessey, John & Bull, J.S. & Waddoups, Rand, 2021. "How Technology is Changing Retail," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 97(1), pages 13-27.
    7. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 1993. "Common risk factors in the returns on stocks and bonds," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 3-56, February.
    8. Kirk, Colleen P. & Rifkin, Laura S., 2020. "I'll trade you diamonds for toilet paper: Consumer reacting, coping and adapting behaviors in the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 124-131.
    9. Kartik Kalaignanam & Venkatesh Shankar & Rajan Varadarajan, 2007. "Asymmetric New Product Development Alliances: Win-Win or Win-Lose Partnerships?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 53(3), pages 357-374, March.
    10. Wang, Hui-Ming Deanna & Sengupta, Sanjit, 2016. "Stakeholder relationships, brand equity, firm performance: A resource-based perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(12), pages 5561-5568.
    11. Alina Sorescu & Nooshin L. Warren & Larisa Ertekin, 2017. "Event study methodology in the marketing literature: an overview," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 45(2), pages 186-207, March.
    12. He, Hongwei & Harris, Lloyd, 2020. "The impact of Covid-19 pandemic on corporate social responsibility and marketing philosophy," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 176-182.
    13. Gerard J. Tellis & Joseph Johnson, 2007. "The Value of Quality," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(6), pages 758-773, 11-12.
    14. Sharma, Amalesh & Adhikary, Anirban & Borah, Sourav Bikash, 2020. "Covid-19′s impact on supply chain decisions: Strategic insights from NASDAQ 100 firms using Twitter data," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 443-449.
    15. Carhart, Mark M, 1997. "On Persistence in Mutual Fund Performance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(1), pages 57-82, March.
    16. Cao, Lanlan & Liu, Xin & Cao, Wenbin, 2018. "The Effects of Search-Related and Purchase-Related Mobile App Additions on Retailers’ Shareholder Wealth: The Roles of Firm Size, Product Category, and Customer Segment," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 94(4), pages 343-351.
    17. Thomas Davenport & Abhijit Guha & Dhruv Grewal & Timna Bressgott, 2020. "How artificial intelligence will change the future of marketing," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 48(1), pages 24-42, January.
    18. Shuili Du & C. B. Bhattacharya & Sankar Sen, 2011. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Competitive Advantage: Overcoming the Trust Barrier," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 57(9), pages 1528-1545, March.
    19. Pasirayi, Simbarashe & Fennell, Patrick B., 2021. "The effect of subscription-based direct-to-consumer channel additions on firm value," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 355-366.
    20. Roberts, Nicholas & Grover, Varun, 2012. "Investigating firm's customer agility and firm performance: The importance of aligning sense and respond capabilities," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 65(5), pages 579-585.
    21. Pushan Dutt & V. Padmanabhan, 2011. "Crisis and Consumption Smoothing," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(3), pages 491-512, 05-06.
    22. Pantano, Eleonora & Pizzi, Gabriele & Scarpi, Daniele & Dennis, Charles, 2020. "Competing during a pandemic? Retailers’ ups and downs during the COVID-19 outbreak," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 209-213.
    23. S. Trevis Certo & John R. Busenbark & Hyun‐soo Woo & Matthew Semadeni, 2016. "Sample selection bias and Heckman models in strategic management research," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(13), pages 2639-2657, December.
    24. Navid Bahmani & Amit Bhatnagar & Dinesh Gauri, 2022. "Hey, Alexa! What attributes of Skills affect firm value?," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 50(6), pages 1219-1235, November.
    25. Ritov, Ilana & Baron, Jonathan, 1992. "Status-Quo and Omission Biases," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 49-61, February.
    26. Ashish Sood & Gerard J. Tellis, 2009. "Do Innovations Really Pay Off? Total Stock Market Returns to Innovation," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 28(3), pages 442-456, 05-06.
    27. Verma, Surabhi & Gustafsson, Anders, 2020. "Investigating the emerging COVID-19 research trends in the field of business and management: A bibliometric analysis approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 253-261.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Navid Bahmani & Amit Bhatnagar & Dinesh Gauri, 2022. "Hey, Alexa! What attributes of Skills affect firm value?," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 50(6), pages 1219-1235, November.
    2. Ali Zackery & Joseph Amankwah-Amoah & Zahra Heidari Darani & Shiva Ghasemi, 2022. "COVID-19 Research in Business and Management: A Review and Future Research Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-32, August.
    3. Michela Piccarozzi & Cecilia Silvestri & Patrizio Morganti, 2021. "COVID-19 in Management Studies: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-28, March.
    4. Edeling, Alexander & Srinivasan, Shuba & Hanssens, Dominique M., 2021. "The marketing–finance interface: A new integrative review of metrics, methods, and findings and an agenda for future research," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 857-876.
    5. Carracedo, Patricia & Puertas, Rosa & Marti, Luisa, 2021. "Research lines on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on business. A text mining analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 586-593.
    6. Hashemi, Hossein & Rajabi, Reza & Brashear-Alejandro, Thomas G., 2022. "COVID-19 research in management: An updated bibliometric analysis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 795-810.
    7. Darima Fotheringham & Michael A. Wiles, 2023. "The effect of implementing chatbot customer service on stock returns: an event study analysis," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 51(4), pages 802-822, July.
    8. Jiang, Yangyang & Stylos, Nikolaos, 2021. "Triggers of consumers’ enhanced digital engagement and the role of digital technologies in transforming the retail ecosystem during COVID-19 pandemic," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    9. Nicolau, Juan Luis & Sharma, Abhinav, 2022. "A review of research into drivers of firm value through event studies in tourism and hospitality: Launching the Annals of Tourism Research curated collection on drivers of firm value through event stu," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    10. Seshadri Tirunillai & Gerard J. Tellis, 2012. "Does Chatter Really Matter? Dynamics of User-Generated Content and Stock Performance," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 31(2), pages 198-215, March.
    11. Beniamino Callegari & Christophe Feder, 2022. "Entrepreneurship and the systemic consequences of epidemics: A literature review and emerging model," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 1653-1684, December.
    12. Pasirayi, Simbarashe & Fennell, Patrick B. & Sen, Argha, 2023. "The effect of third-party delivery partnerships on firm value," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    13. Mehdi Nezami & Kapil R. Tuli & Shantanu Dutta, 2022. "Shareholder wealth implications of software firms’ transition to cloud computing: a marketing perspective," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 50(3), pages 538-562, May.
    14. Klöckner, Maximilian & Schmidt, Christoph G. & Wagner, Stephan M. & Swink, Morgan, 2023. "Firms’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    15. Alina Sorescu & Nooshin L. Warren & Larisa Ertekin, 2017. "Event study methodology in the marketing literature: an overview," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 45(2), pages 186-207, March.
    16. Magdalena Olczyk & Marta Ewa Kuc-Czarnecka, 2021. "Determinants of COVID-19 Impact on the Private Sector: A Multi-Country Analysis Based on Survey Data," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-17, July.
    17. Abhishek Borah & Gerard J. Tellis, 2014. "Make, Buy, or Ally? Choice of and Payoff from Announcements of Alternate Strategies for Innovations," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 33(1), pages 114-133, January.
    18. Stefan J. Hock & Sascha Raithel, 2020. "Managing Negative Celebrity Endorser Publicity: How Announcements of Firm (Non)Responses Affect Stock Returns," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(3), pages 1473-1495, March.
    19. Eger, Ludvík & Komárková, Lenka & Egerová, Dana & MiÄ Ã­k, Michal, 2021. "The effect of COVID-19 on consumer shopping behaviour: Generational cohort perspective," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    20. Michael A. Wiles & Shailendra P. Jain & Saurabh Mishra & Charles Lindsey, 2010. "Stock Market Response to Regulatory Reports of Deceptive Advertising: The Moderating Effect of Omission Bias and Firm Reputation," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 29(5), pages 828-845, 09-10.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:161:y:2023:i:c:s0148296323001418. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.