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Changes in Corporate Responsibility Management during COVID-19 Crisis and Their Effects on Business Resilience: An Empirical Study of Swiss and German Companies

Author

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  • Fridolin Simon Brand

    (Center for Corporate Responsibility, Department International Business, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Theaterstr. 17, 8004 Winterthur, Switzerland)

  • Richard Blaese

    (Center for Corporate Responsibility, Department International Business, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Theaterstr. 17, 8004 Winterthur, Switzerland)

  • Giulia Weber

    (Center for Corporate Responsibility, Department International Business, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Theaterstr. 17, 8004 Winterthur, Switzerland)

  • Herbert Winistoerfer

    (Center for Corporate Responsibility, Department International Business, Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Theaterstr. 17, 8004 Winterthur, Switzerland)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the activities and performance of companies worldwide. This article examines in what ways corporate responsibility management and corporate responsibility reporting activities have changed during the COVID-19 crisis in Switzerland and Germany, and how corporate responsibility management is related to aspects of business resilience in terms of maintaining expected financial performance during the COVID-19 crisis in Swiss companies. To answer these questions, we conducted a quantitative and qualitative content analysis of company reports of the top 10 Swiss and German companies in terms of market capitalization, as well as a quantitative survey among Swiss managers. Our results show that during the period under consideration, (i) a majority of the companies analyzed in Switzerland and Germany expanded their sustainability reporting, both overall and in all sustainability dimensions; (ii) there is a tendency for corporate responsibility management to move away from upstream and downstream sustainability topics and focus more on in-house sustainability topics; and (iii) there is a correlation between the two corporate responsibility topics of local recruitment and occupational health and expected financial performance as an aspect of maintained business resilience in times of crisis.

Suggested Citation

  • Fridolin Simon Brand & Richard Blaese & Giulia Weber & Herbert Winistoerfer, 2022. "Changes in Corporate Responsibility Management during COVID-19 Crisis and Their Effects on Business Resilience: An Empirical Study of Swiss and German Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-18, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:7:p:4144-:d:783898
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Agnieszka Janik & Adam Ryszko, 2023. "Sustainability Reporting during the Crisis—What Was Disclosed by Companies in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic Based on Evidence from Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-54, August.

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