Covid-19 CSR Activation by Malaysian Companies: Evidence from Online News

ABSTRACT

The novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) has badly affected individuals and organizations all around the globe. There are many efforts undertaken by organizations to assist governments in combating the pandemic. This include spending funds to curb the Coronavirus which is the corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. This paper aims to investigate the extent of CSR activation by Malaysian companies in battling the Covid-19 pandemic via content analysis of online news during the implementation of the Movement Control Order by the government using the legitimacy theory and coercive isomorphism under the umbrella of institutional theory. The analysis includes the examination of online news which was captured from a Google search from a period 18 March to 17 May 2020. There were 95 online news captured during the period. The results found out that the types of CSR activation were classified into monetary, non-monetary and both. It is also found that the CSR activation reported on online news is part of the companies' legitimation strategies in addition to the on-going business's marketing strategies. Several implications and limitations are also provided in this paper. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.