Corporate social responsibility and psychological capital during the COVID-19 pandemic: perspectives from India

Purpose - This paper aims to examine the relationship between employees’ perception of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices in Indian business organizations and psychological capital (PsyCap) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach - This research design is conclusive, descriptive and cross-sectional. An online survey was conducted during COVID-19-related lockdowns in India in 2020–2021, using two standardized research instruments. Data was collected from 154 respondents; correlation and regression techniques were applied using SPSS version 25. Findings - Results indicate that employees’ perception of CSR practices was positively correlated with the components of PsyCap, namely, employee self-efficacy, hope, resilience and optimism. Findings indicate that 57.4% of the variance in PsyCap is explained by employees’ perception of CSR. Research limitations/implications - Studies may be carried out to examine the difference in PsyCap between organizations having strong CSRvis-à-visweak CSR. The impact of PsyCap on organizations’ performance during states of disruption and chaos is unexamined so far; studies on the said linkage are thus required. Researchers may also examine whether there is a significant difference in organizations’ PsyCap during crisis and non-crisis conditions. Studies on the linkages between EPCSR and organizational resilience, employee performance and employee engagement during crises, with PsyCap in the moderating role will provide further insights into this area of research. Practical implications - The findings imply that having effective CSR policies can help with the conservation and recovery of psychological resources. Employees’ enhanced self-efficacy, hope, resilience and optimism are the benefits of being a CSR-oriented organization as indicated by the study findings. Investing in CSR would therefore be a win–win situation for organizations, as besides giving back to society and building a great public image for themselves, it would also improve organizations’ PsyCap, which in turn would make businesses resilient and better able to navigate through crises. Social implications - This study makes a case for a macro- and micro-level focus on PsyCap. Increasing organizational psychological resources makes it possible to lessen the pandemic’s negative psychological toll and enhance workers’ coping abilities. As evidenced in this study, the CSR practice of organizations is one such way toward it. It is thus in the interest of society, organizations and employees that organizations strengthen their CSR and more so during times of widespread crises. Originality/value - Extant literature has mostly examined CSR from the macro-level lens during noncrises conditions, with a focus on external stakeholders and in the context of developed Western economies. This research has a micro-level perspective and focuses on the PsyCap of internal stakeholders, i.e. corporate employees in an emerging market, namely, India. It has been conducted in the background of an unprecedented global economic and mental crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, thus making this study very unique and relevant.