Communicating the Resilience and Corporate Social Responsibility of SMEs during Lockdown in Spain: A Visual and Exploratory Study of Communication Mechanisms and Strategies

Abstract

The health crisis caused by COVID-19 has led to changes in the behaviour of businesses during lockdown, especially Small and Medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This study aims to identify the capacity for reaction, resilience, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) from direct sources and from strategic communication categories. Firstly, to discover the communication mechanisms and strategies of innovative SMEs during lockdown in Spain for overcoming difficulties. And secondly, to confirm “Food and Drink”- sector SME resilience capacities through their communications, and the CSR capacity of the SMEs that supports the sustainability to the tourism sector. For this purpose, a qualitative analysis of the 2.0 messages communicated by the companies was carried out and a map generated from social network analysis to identify the most resilient SMEs based on strategic communication elements used. The results show an uneven business reaction that reflects the change of paradigm in communication with customers that is occurring heterogeneously. This study is original because few on this theme apply to SMEs in the Spanish context. We highlight they are all from the “Food and drink” sector and included in the list of enterprises with high growth rate through entrepreneurial spirit and innovation, allowing us to make certain comparisons and understand certain differences and respective resilience, including supply chains and CSR.

Relationship Between Business Communication and Business Sustainability in Times of Uncertainty. A Case Study of Greece

“…The results show that internal, horizontal and external approaches to business communication have a positive effect on business sustainability in uncertain times. Numerous studies have sought to establish a connection between an organization's commercial success and its external communication tactics, but it is more challenging to do so when focusing on internal communication (FAO, 2020;García-Santiago, 2022;Primožič & Kutnar, 2022). Non-financial factors, such as employee happiness, engagement, turnover rate, and long-term commitment, must be taken into account rather than concentrating on the conventional financial method to evaluating return on investment (Kopnina, 2017;C.…”

“…However, the scientific community is increasingly criticising this method of communication where specialists teach regular people (A.O. & A.A, 2016; M. Nielsen et al, 2013).Since the distinction between Communication for Sustainability (CfS) focuses on the normative aspect of sustainable development (Casey-Hardman, 2020;García-Santiago, 2022). In this sense, communication involves more than just disseminating knowledge about sustainability and promoting sustainability-related issues Deng et al, 2022;Scott, 2017).…”

“…Businesses, for instance, may see a loss in their long-term value if they underinvest in research and development (Guo et al, 2020;Padukkage et al, 2015b). When the system fails, enterprises are exposed to indirect risks because they collectively fail to balance the short-and long-term interests (Fragouli et al, 2016;García-Santiago, 2022).…”

Sustainable Communication; Perceived Motivation and Nature of the Commitment

“…Companies are moving towards greater interaction with consumers to understand their needs, to offer them the best products and services possible and to achieve effective communication with them. Accordingly, it is particularly important to understand how consumers interpret different communication campaigns [55].…”

Ethical labels and conspicuous consumption: impact on civic virtue and cynicism in luxury foodservice

“…When consumers engage in ethical label purchasing within luxury foodservice, this behavior represents a cognitive understanding and a higher level of civic virtue, driven by the recognition of ethical choices (Cropanzano et al ., 2017). Specifically, ethical considerations and social solidarity in luxury foodservice often present contentious and conflicting viewpoints, challenging consumer perspectives on the value of socially responsible marketing practices (García-Santiago, 2022). The area of ethical consumption is prone to disputes and consumer cynicism, particularly when evaluating the effects of ethical or unethical marketing activities on consumer intentions (Liu et al ., 2021).…”