Crisis Management and CSR in Slovenian Companies: The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic

The main aim of this article was to outline how the appearance of COVID-19 changed the global competitiveness of Slovenian companies through the lenses of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and crisis management. Based on concepts of CSR and crisis management, we analyzed the responses of companies to ensure their competitiveness in a crisis situation. Two surveys among managers in Slovenian companies were carried out, one in March 2020 (N = 618) and the other in May 2020 (N = 486). Our results showed that internationally oriented companies responded more comprehensively and proactively to the challenges of doing business in the COVID-19 crisis compared to the companies that had operated mainly in the domestic market during this period. The analysis also showed that internationally oriented companies responded to the COVID-19 crisis with more comprehensive measures also using the concept of CSR and crisis management in comparison with companies that, in the time of the pandemic, operated mainly in the domestic market and used fewer principles of CSR and crisis management. The main theoretical implications of this survey are related to CSR development. They emphasize the interdependent importance of experience and impact in international business in connection with the concept of CSR and crisis management in times of COVID-19. Practical implications include proposals to streamline operations to maintain competitiveness and to take advantage of new business opportunities and effects, which are also encouraged through the use of the CSR concept and crisis management

FROM KNOWLEDGE TO INNOVATION SOCIETY

Knowledge has been what has always distinguished humans from other living being, once it was applied to solve a problem in a routine or an innovative way. The current society has developed much more knowledge than ever before. But it remains idle and unused or under-used, at least, with people and peoples who are not innovative in their concept of economics. They are under threat and/or practice of exploitation as neocolonies, if their capacity to apply knowledge for innovation is smaller than with other people and peoples. Innovative culture and systemic thinking make a crucial difference. Knowledge is essential, but its application for innovation is even more so. There are many around, e.g. in the latecomer countries to the modern economy and society, who care for knowledge, but do not care for innovation and turning knowledge into innovation enough. Therefore, what they need is an explicit way from knowledge to innovation society. We are sketching it here.The original publication is available at JAIST Press http://www.jaist.ac.jp/library/jaist-press/index.htmlIFSR 2005 : Proceedings of the First World Congress of the International Federation for Systems Research : The New Roles of Systems Sciences For a Knowledge-based Society : Nov. 14-17, 2171, Kobe, JapanSymposium 6, Session 8 : Vision of Knowledge Civilization Objectivity and Network