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<p>The COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented global crisis that tested the resilience and social accountability of companies worldwide, particularly in emerging economies where structural vulnerabilities are more pronounced. This study examines the pandemic’s impact on corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance among companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in South Africa. Drawing on stakeholder, institutional, legitimacy, agency, and crisis management theories, we develop contrasting expectations regarding whether the pandemic would strengthen or weaken CSR engagement. Analysing 624 company-year observations from 2017 to 2022, we find that the pandemic’s overall effect on CSR performance was statistically insignificant, indicating that South African companies generally maintained their CSR commitments despite economic and operational disruptions. Sectoral analysis, however, reveals significant heterogeneity: CSR performance declined in the materials sector but improved in the real estate sector. These findings suggest that stakeholder demands, managerial incentives, legitimacy concerns, institutional pressures, and crisis-response capacities jointly shaped industry-level outcomes. The results are robust to alternative CSR measures and econometric approaches. The study contributes to the literature on CSR practices in emerging markets by demonstrating the value of a multi-theoretic lens in explaining both resilience and sector-specific vulnerabilities in corporate responses to systemic shocks.</p>

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Evaluating the resilience of CSR practices in South African listed companies surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic (2017–2022)

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年4月19日

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  • Phathutshedzo Lemana,
  • Reon Matemane,
  • Maatabudi Mokabane

摘要

The COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented global crisis that tested the resilience and social accountability of companies worldwide, particularly in emerging economies where structural vulnerabilities are more pronounced. This study examines the pandemic’s impact on corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance among companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in South Africa. Drawing on stakeholder, institutional, legitimacy, agency, and crisis management theories, we develop contrasting expectations regarding whether the pandemic would strengthen or weaken CSR engagement. Analysing 624 company-year observations from 2017 to 2022, we find that the pandemic’s overall effect on CSR performance was statistically insignificant, indicating that South African companies generally maintained their CSR commitments despite economic and operational disruptions. Sectoral analysis, however, reveals significant heterogeneity: CSR performance declined in the materials sector but improved in the real estate sector. These findings suggest that stakeholder demands, managerial incentives, legitimacy concerns, institutional pressures, and crisis-response capacities jointly shaped industry-level outcomes. The results are robust to alternative CSR measures and econometric approaches. The study contributes to the literature on CSR practices in emerging markets by demonstrating the value of a multi-theoretic lens in explaining both resilience and sector-specific vulnerabilities in corporate responses to systemic shocks.