No crisis in recent history has shaken the world the way Corona Crisis has. With cities, states, and countries in various stages of lockdowns and economic activity limited to the bare minimum, the socioeconomic and health costs of this crisis to humans, businesses, and societies are just unfolding. Health researchers are working overtime to find drug interventions and vaccines and economists are attempting to avert a recession that may potentially surpass the Great Depression of the late 1920s and early 1930s. As co-editors of Business & Society, we watched these developments and wondered: What should business researchers and educators do? So, we reflected on it and penned an editorial, forthcoming in the journal.
We recognise how the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the interconnected nature of our lives and the differential effects on individuals, organizations, and societies, as well as their responses to the crisis. Given the unprecedented and unique nature of this context, each of these issues– the nature of problems at the intersection of business and society, the differential effects of crises on individuals, businesses, and societies, and their varied understandings and responses – contain in them a range of theoretical puzzles and research questions. All of these can be fruitfully examined by business and society scholars and we expect that some have likely begun such examinations. However, we identify three broad research themes as being important.
First, the current crisis has revealed the great capacity that we have- as a society- to quickly respond to large-scale social problems. Understanding the processes and mechanisms through which such mobilization has occurred can help in developing strategies for future mobilization of resources and support for societal problems. Lessons from such responses across different domains, such as public health, economy, or education, can be distilled and applied to other grand societal challenges, such as climate change and inequality as some initial responses (here and here) show.
Second, in the face of crisis, there is a wide range of organizational responses that hold promise as future areas of inquiry for learning how businesses can (and should!) respond to broader societal problems. The swift and unconventional nature of these responses could generate insights on how similar changes can be achieved in the future, thus informing the scholarship on organizational change.
Third, the sudden and severe adjustments that individuals and organizations have had to make in response to the COVID-19 crisis are likely to have an effect on the future of business. These adjustments have implications for the studies of business models, the role of our socioeconomic system, and particularly the development of alternative business models. The crisis also has revealed the extent to which work can be done in isolation and remotely using technology. These work style changes can have an effect on the future of work organization, as well as the role of technology in work – themes that are increasingly receiving attention in the domain of business and society.
To conclude, the COVID-19 crisis poses huge challenges for society and causes great anxiety for all of us. Yet, as tragic as it is, it also introduces an opportunity for (and a responsibility of) the business and society scholarship to lead the world into a renewed relationship between individuals, businesses, and societies. We hope you join us in this journey of learning, and more importantly, stay safe and take care in these times of global pandemic.
Does allowing China’s privately-owned firms to buy equity in large state-owned enterprises have the potential to improve their CSR performance? It does when these firms have restricted access to financial and other resources, the real barriers requiring effective government interventions.
By: Bin Li, Lei Xu, Ron P. McIver, Xin Liu, & Ailing Pan
Invitation for submissions for a Business & Society Special Issue seeking incisive research that illuminates how corruption and wrongdoing may emerge in contemporary organizations and societies, as well as strategies to effectively address these challenges.
By: Stefan Schembera, Armando Castro, Don Lange, Kathleen Rehbein, & Punit Arora
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Business and Society Research in Times of the Corona Crisis
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By Hari Bapuji, Frank G. A. de Bakker, Jill A. Brown, Colin Higgins, Kathleen Rehbein, &
Andrew Spicer
No crisis in recent history has shaken the world the way Corona Crisis has. With cities, states, and countries in various stages of lockdowns and economic activity limited to the bare minimum, the socioeconomic and health costs of this crisis to humans, businesses, and societies are just unfolding. Health researchers are working overtime to find drug interventions and vaccines and economists are attempting to avert a recession that may potentially surpass the Great Depression of the late 1920s and early 1930s. As co-editors of Business & Society, we watched these developments and wondered: What should business researchers and educators do? So, we reflected on it and penned an editorial, forthcoming in the journal.
We recognise how the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the interconnected nature of our lives and the differential effects on individuals, organizations, and societies, as well as their responses to the crisis. Given the unprecedented and unique nature of this context, each of these issues– the nature of problems at the intersection of business and society, the differential effects of crises on individuals, businesses, and societies, and their varied understandings and responses – contain in them a range of theoretical puzzles and research questions. All of these can be fruitfully examined by business and society scholars and we expect that some have likely begun such examinations. However, we identify three broad research themes as being important.
First, the current crisis has revealed the great capacity that we have- as a society- to quickly respond to large-scale social problems. Understanding the processes and mechanisms through which such mobilization has occurred can help in developing strategies for future mobilization of resources and support for societal problems. Lessons from such responses across different domains, such as public health, economy, or education, can be distilled and applied to other grand societal challenges, such as climate change and inequality as some initial responses (here and here) show.
Second, in the face of crisis, there is a wide range of organizational responses that hold promise as future areas of inquiry for learning how businesses can (and should!) respond to broader societal problems. The swift and unconventional nature of these responses could generate insights on how similar changes can be achieved in the future, thus informing the scholarship on organizational change.
Third, the sudden and severe adjustments that individuals and organizations have had to make in response to the COVID-19 crisis are likely to have an effect on the future of business. These adjustments have implications for the studies of business models, the role of our socioeconomic system, and particularly the development of alternative business models. The crisis also has revealed the extent to which work can be done in isolation and remotely using technology. These work style changes can have an effect on the future of work organization, as well as the role of technology in work – themes that are increasingly receiving attention in the domain of business and society.
To conclude, the COVID-19 crisis poses huge challenges for society and causes great anxiety for all of us. Yet, as tragic as it is, it also introduces an opportunity for (and a responsibility of) the business and society scholarship to lead the world into a renewed relationship between individuals, businesses, and societies. We hope you join us in this journey of learning, and more importantly, stay safe and take care in these times of global pandemic.
References:
Bapuji, H., de Bakker, F. G. A., Brown, J. A., Higgins, C., Rehbein, K., & Spicer, A. 2020. Business and Society Research in Times of the Corona Crisis. May 4, 2020. Business & Society. Available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0007650320921172
Bapuji, H., Patel, C., Ertug, C., & Allen, D.G. 2020. Corona crisis and inequality: Why Management Research Needs a Societal Turn. May 2020. Journal of Management. Available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0149206320925881
de Bakker, F. G. A., Matten, D., Spence, L. J., & Wickert, C. 2020. The Elephant in the Room: The Nascent Research Agenda on Corporations, Social Responsibility, and Capitalism. January 19, 2020. Business & Society. Available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0007650319898196
Flyverbom, M., Deibert, R., & Matten, D. 2017. The Governance of Digital Technology, Big Data, and the Internet: New Roles and Responsibilities for Business. Business & Society, 58(1): 3-19.
Fraser, D. 2020. Covid-19 has become an ‘economic crisis’ says chief economist. April 21, 2020. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-52367295
Gardiner, B. 2020. Coronavirus Holds Key Lessons on How to Fight Climate Change. March 23, 2020. Available at: https://e360.yale.edu/features/coronavirus-holds-key-lessons-on-how-to-fight-climate-change
Global Partnership for Education. 2020. GPE’s response to COVID-19: Rapidly mobilizing to face an unprecedented challenge. March 27, 2020. Available at: https://www.globalpartnership.org/blog/gpes-response-covid-19-rapidly-mobilizing-face-unprecedented-challenge
Margiono, A. 2020. What might post-Covid-19 business strategies look like?. Medium. April 7, 2020. Available at: https://medium.com/@ari.margiono/what-might-post-covid-19-business-strategies-look-like-1d004848774f
World Business Council for Sustainable Development. 2020. How business is responding to COVID-19. Available at: https://www.wbcsd.org/COVID-19
World Health Organization Europe. 2020. Strengthening the health system response to COVID-19. April 1, 2020. Available at: http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/436350/strengthening-health-system-response-COVID-19.pdf?ua=1
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