COVID-19 and the reorientation of communication towards CSR

Figures & data

Table 1. Number of companies interviewed per industry and degree of CSR implementation.

	Degree of CSR implementation
	Low	Medium	High
Number of companies	(reluctance)	(grasp)	(embeddedness)
Food	–	1	1
Tourism	–	1	1
Sport services	1	1	–
Retail industry	1	1	–
TOTAL	2	4	2

Source: Self-made.

Figure 1. Conceptual map of the impact of the pandemic in communication.

Source: Self-made.

Table 2. Percentage of companies in terms of size and degree of CSR implementation.

	Proportion of companies
50–99 employees	24%
100–249 employees	35%
More than 249 employees	41%
Low CSR (reluctant)	21%
Medium CSR (grasp)	38%
High CSR (embeddedness)	41%

Source: Self-made.

Table 3. Nature of communication changes as a consequence of the pandemic.

	Agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Disagree
My organisation has significantly increased its communication related to products and services	70.1%	11.2%	18.7%
My organisation has significantly increased its communication and/or advertising of product promotions and discounts	56.1%	14.5%	29.4%
My organisation has significantly increased its corporate communication	79.0%	29.4%	7.5%

Source: Self-made.

Table 4. CSR communication and degree of CSR implementation.

Degree of CSR implementation		n	M	SD	SE	95% CI lower bound	95% CI lower bound
Low		41	4.5^a	3.6	0.6	3.4	5.7
Medium		77	6.7^b	2.7	0.3	6.1	7.3
High		81	7.6^b	2.5	0.3	7.1	8.2
Total		199	6.6	3.0	0.2	6.2	7.0

Notes: Data analysed using one-way analysis of variance, followed by Bonferroni comparison between groups. Mean values with different superscript letters are significantly different (p < 0.01).

Source: Self-made.

Table 5. Changes in communication content and degree of CSR implementation.

	Degree of CSR implementation
	Low	Medium	High
Support messages to the general public	15.5%	43.7%	40.8%
Support messages to frontline workers (police, nurses…)	10.8%^a	40.9%^b	48.4%^b
Information on opening hours, new schedules…	20.7%	24.1%	55.2%
Communication on safety measures adopted in production	10.4%^a	52.1%^b	37.5%^b
Communication on new security protocols implemented	19.4%	33.0%	47.6%
Communication of CSR actions	7.8%^a	39.2%^b	52.9%^b
Positive and optimistic messages	19.2%	36.3%	44.5%

Notes: Data analysed using the chi-square test of independence. In each row, values with different superscript letters are significantly different (p < 0.01).

Source: Self-made.

Table 6. Nature of CSR practices conducted by firms during the COVID-19 situation.

Deferral of payments to suppliers and/or customers	19%
Economic aid to underprivileged groups	24%
Parcel services and transportation services adapted for people over 65	7%
Product donations to underprivileged groups	36%
Sanitary material donations	28%
Special actions on healthcare workers	20%
Other	16%

Source: Self-made.

Table 7. Company size and degree of CSR implementation.

	Company Size
	Medium	Medium-Large	Very Large
Degree of CSR implementation	50–99 employees	100–249 employees	More than 249 employees
Low	55.5%^a	24.2%^b	24.2%^b
Medium	23.9%^a,b	43.7%^b	32.4%^a
High	13.6%^a	32.1%^a	54.3%^b

Notes: Data analysed using the chi-square test of independence. In each row, values with different superscript letters are significantly different (p < 0.05).

Source: Self-made.

Table 8. Company size as a moderator of changes in external and corporate communication.

	n	M	SD	SE	95% CI lower bound	95% CI lower bound
50–99 employees	51	7.6^a	2.2	0.3	6.9	8.3
100–249 employees	71	7.4^a	1.9	0.2	6.9	7.9
More than 249 employees	77	6.3^b	2.1	0.4	5.9	6.8
Total	199	7.0	2.1	0.2	6.7	7.3

Notes: Data analysed using one-way analysis of variance, followed by Bonferroni comparison between groups. Mean values with different superscript letters are significantly different (p < 0.01).

Source: Self-made.