CSR in corona time

The paper aims to present CSR activities in the Corona Time and internal stakeholders´ perception of these activities. Many of successful business would like to be more social responsible not only in usual time period, but during the crises, too. They would like to support and help the society. The paper introduces the Case Study of SKODA AUTO. How the business helped the society by CSR activities, and how the internal stakeholders perceive these activities. The description of the perception is based on the survey organized in May/June 2020, immediately after the quarantine and reducing of emergency measure. The sense of the CSR activities is in their marketing communication, too. Therefore, the attention of researchers was focused on the effectiveness of the marketing communication to internal stakeholders.

Literature review

Concept of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) was introduced in 30´s of 20th century. It could be defined as all activities far from maximum legitimate requirements or connected to understanding and satisfaction of expectations of all stakeholders in society. (Kunz 2012, p. 12).

The interest of consumers in CSR activities is visible. They monitor the behavior with customers, observing the rules or quality products. They are interested in consumer ethics, charity etc. (Horbulák 2019). The consumer ethics is one of the most discussed topics – on the side of corporates and consumers, too. The importance of consumer ethics is increasing in the Czech Republic in last decade. (Jaderná and Beránek 2017). It is one of most important aspects of the social responsibility, together with interest in an environment. More and more Czech consumers tend to behave ecologically friendly. (Jaderná et al. 2018).

Consumers and other stakeholders push an environmentally friendly behavior of businesses. Nevertheless, big companies (more than 500 employees, balance sum higher than 20 million EUR, and a net profit more than 40 million EUR) have to introduce nonfinancial information about their activities. It is based on Directive 2014/95/eu of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards disclosure of non-financial and diversity information by certain large undertakings and groups. The aim is transparency and easy identification of risks of sustainability. But, in supply chain and regard to investors and consumers, businesses are strongly motivated to do CSR. (Směrnice Evropského parlamentu a Rady 2014/98/EU o nefinančním reportingu).

Factor of motivation are other documents related to CSR. One of them is the National action plan of CSR. Its main goal is to set fundamentals of transmission and support of CSR thinking in the Czech Republic, based on active dialog and respect to all stakeholders´ interests. The platform of CSR stakeholders came to existence to lead an active collaboration of all stakeholders. (MPO 2015). Strategic frame Czech Republic 2030 is a document formulation basic principles of sustainable development in every area and their application in public politics. It is not for businesses, nonetheless it can be used as a foundation for direction of businesses´ CSR activities. (Strategický rámec Česká republika 2030). National action plan for business and human rights 2017-2022 is an important base for social aspects of CSR. This document is focused on improvement of life quality of community and society. (Národní akční plan pro byznys a lidská práva na období 2017 – 2022). Many important information are available on narodniportal.cz. It is a Czech official portal of CSR. Btw, it present, the CSR issues, awards interesting concepts of CSR and inform about documents and institutions related to CSR. (Oficiální portál České republiky o společenské odpovědnosti).

These documents and portals not only inform about application of CSR in practice, but many times they motivate so strong as stakeholders of the business – investors, parts of supply chain (suppliers, customers), employees, society or state institutions in region. During the pandemic of COVID 19 was the CSR more than important. Businesses were having a spirit of initiative, understand the need for cooperation, first in social area, to restart the national economy. This paper introduces a case study of chosen business and its CSR activities. Afterwards, results of marketing research focused on employees´ perception of these activities are presented. Employees are the biggest critics of all stakeholders in business and their approach is very important for business.

CSR activities and the crisis of coronavirus

The COVID 19 pandemic has invaded everyone’s lives and paralyzed many aspects of the day-to-day operation of businesses in global and local markets. In many countries, the operation of some major companies has been completely suspended, as has the economic growth of recent years. The impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on the world economy is as unpredictable as the global depression of the 1930s. (Euronews 2020). And it is the COVID 19 pandemic that can cause significant changes in the marketing management of companies. During the pandemic, companies began to consider further involvement in the field of CSR. But it was at this time that more and more possibilities began to emerge to help society in these difficult times and thus, by the way, improve their corporate image.

Businesses supported society by sewing / donating face masks, making shields, disinfecting, making purchases to disadvantaged groups or supporting their employees. One of the most affected areas was India. Researchers there have found that companies have consciously and unknowingly adopted some CSR practices. Most of them offered bedded facilities, provide donation and give fair wages to employees. (Vethirajan et al. 2020, pp. 67-77). In the UK, supermarkets decided to contribute to the fight against the COVID 19 pandemic by donationing to the food collection (Lidsay 2020), manufacturing companies transformed factories to produce fans, personal protective equipment and sanitation products. Some companies subsidized or directly donated these products to those in need. (BBC 2020). These activities do not differ much from those that are also noticeable in Czech companies, as the case study in this article suggests.

However, the COVID 19 wave not only brought a new direction in CSR activities, but also a change in consumer behavior and thus in marketing philosophies of companies. The ethical dimension in consumer decision-making has become important, making consumers more responsible and pro-social in their consumption. By changing the company’s attitudes, marketers have also changed their marketing mindset towards sustainability and social responsibility. (Hongwei and Harrisb 2020, pp. 176-182). Therefore, we can expect not only a great deal of pressure on companies to be socially responsible, but also a change in the attitudes of management and external and internal stakeholders.

CSR areas

This article will deal with the description of CSR activities within the case study. As mentioned in the introduction, CSR is a voluntary activity, namely „the voluntary commitment of an organization to take into account in its decision-making and day-to-day activities the needs of its customers, suppliers, employees and other affected factors, either directly or indirectly.“ (Oficiální portál České republiky o společenské odpovědnosti). CSR activities are planned with regard to fundamental aspects of sustainability. Within the framework of sustainability, not only are environmental issues addressed, but also issues of social and economic development, as suggested, among other things, by the goals of sustainable development defined by the United Nations. It set 17 main goals for sustainable development.

Figure 1: Sustainable Development Goals
Source: United Nations (2020)

Social areas affect poverty, hunger, health, quality of education, gender equality, peace, justice and strong institutions. The economic areas include decent work and economic growth, industry, innovation and infrastructure, the elimination of inequalities, the promotion of sustainable cities and towns and partnerships to achieve goals. It addresses environmental issues in terms of drinking water and sanitation, available and clean energy, responsible production and consumption, climate action, for life in water and on land. (European Commision 2019).

These aspects of sustainable development are globally accepted and have become the basis for corporate strategies, including the identification of CSR areas. Caroll (1991, pp. 39-48) first attempted to identify areas of CSR with a pyramid containing economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic pillars. However, the pyramid division was not appropriate given the lag or preference for some aspects of CSR. Later, Scott Cato (2009, p. 86) introduced a one-pillar, social, approach that companies should focus on in CSR. However, CSR strategies and external declared activities are very often divided into three areas – economic, social and environmental. This division is based on the so-called „triple bottom line“, first defined in 1994 by John Elkington, later published in the 1997 book Cannibals with Forks: Triple Bottom Line of the 21st Century Business Hardcover. (Elkington 2018). The triple bottom line consists of pillars of social equality, economic and environmental factors – figuratively „people, planet, profit“. It is the basis for sustainability goals. However, linking sustainability goals to the direction of CSR activities is clear and useful in marketing practice. Into account the three basic pillars of the triple bottom line, they can be defined for CSR as follows:

People is a social area which includes stakeholder relationships as well. Most of the following activities include philanthropy, respect for human rights, and labor standards. In the field of philanthropy, it is not just about financial subsidies and sponsorship, but companies offer subsidized products, use of company facilities, property or services, or allow access to employ voluntary groups. (Chaudhary 2016, p. 379).

Another pillar on the triple bottom line is the planet, it is an environmental aspect of CSR. It includes basically anything that has an impact on the Earth’s environment. Most often it is energy and water conservation, sustainable supply, transition to alternative sources and waste reduction.

The last pillar is profit, which is becoming an economic area within CSR. It concerns activities related to the financial health of companies. These include the reduction of production costs, entry into new markets (Shnayder et al. 2015), but also aspects related to the economic development of the region of activity or ethical principles of the economic area. This may include, for example, the support of regional suppliers, the rejection of corruption, transparency, fair relations with stakeholder groups, and the protection of intellectual property. (Chaudhary 2016, p. 380)

The triple bottom line divides CSR activities into 3 pillars (social, environmental and economic) which is often criticized despite the extensive use of corporate practice. Limits are set for reporting CSR activities according to the triple bottom line. The first is the reliability of measurements in view of the fact that process reporting is preferred over outputs, as well as the often seen attempt to aggregate behaviors without an objective way of doing so (Norman and McDonald 2003) other limits defined by Pava (2007, pp. 105-110). One of the most important is inability to measure and track social and environmental performance in a meaningful, consistent, and comparable way. Many authors then tried to eliminate or correct these limits.

This article will not directly cover reporting activities or their marketing communication. To describe CSR activities during the COVID 19 pandemic, it is appropriate to use the triple bottom line.

Stakeholders and CSR

One of the pillars of CSR is the social pillar (people). This includes, among other things, relationships with stakeholders on a social level. Thus, the paradigm of Friedman about the responsibility of management only towards shareholders was overcome. It is a support passing from rich shareholders to the inhabitants of municipalities that are affected by the company’s behavior – small farmers, communities around operational facilities, or micro loan recipients in the supply chain.

Stakeholders were defined by Freemann (1984, p. 6) as follows: „Groups or individuals who can have effects on, or are affected by, the objectives of an organization“. In the context of CSR, the list of stakeholders changes significantly over time. We include not only customers, employees and suppliers, but also the government, local government representatives and, of course, the already mentioned shareholders. However, all stakeholders who have joined the stakeholders have been characterized in recent years by the ever-increasing expectations of adapting companies in the field of CSR. This growing tendency forces companies to develop and develop CSR activities in order to accept stakeholders. This makes CSR a key aspect of stakeholder management. (Norman and McDonald 2003). On the other hand, CSR managers face criticism from some of the stakeholders who are negatively affected by CSR activities. Shareholders and employees ultimately pay for the initiation of social responsibility. Managers are then forced to seek a balance between the satisfaction of all stakeholders – those supported and those „supporting“. (O’Riordan and Fairbrass 2014, p. 124). Ways are being sought that would enable the argumentation of CSR activities of companies towards internal stakeholders and thus the organization of relationships by key stakeholders (both external and internal) more effectively. It can even provide a competitive advantage and increase organizational productivity and set other strategies. (Cantrell et al. 2015, p. 415). Among the internal stakeholders we include, among others, the company’s employees. Employee involvement can range from small contributions to the CSR to significant success factors in the longer term. (Bolton et al. 2011, p. 66). Employees are often motivated in various ways to participate in CSR activities. One of the most used are role-modeling (leading by example), advocacy, and facilitation. (Yi-Ru and Chun-Ju 2014, p. 215).

On the other hand, CSR can also be an internal motivating factor for a HR manager. Internal and external CSR activities are positively correlated with the internal motivation of employees. Some research confirms that internal and external CSR activities help workforce efficiency, creating a competitive advantage that then affects business success. (Branco and Rodrigues 2006, p. 124). They also have a positive effect on employee identification and can help the company gain external prestige important within personnel management. (Hameed et al. 2016, p. 788). However, it can also be argued by other research that confirms that internal CSR activities have a slightly more positive effect than the external dimension of CSR. However, in the case of support for local communities or customer-oriented activities, the positive perception of employees is also strong, more so than in the case of support for relationships by business partners. (Skudiene and Auruskeviciene 2012, p. 53).

This article is intended, among other things, to present the results of research among employees of a selected company concerning the perception and involvement in external CSR activities. Examples of business practice in the field of CSR during the COVID 19 pandemic will be presented and subsequently put into context with their perception by internal stakeholders.

Methodology and goals

Article methodology
The main goal of this article is to identify and evaluate the attitudes of internal stakeholders to the activities of Consumer Social Responsibility, implemented during the coronavirus crisis, namely ŠKODA AUTO, a. s. In order to fulfill this goal, it is necessary to set and fulfill partial goals, which include the creation of an appropriate literature review of CSR issues, or the implementation of a basic evaluation of the initial situation. Two sub-objectives have a separate methodology. First, a case study will be prepared, which will present the CSR activities that were implemented by ŠKODA AUTO, a. s. at a time of limitations caused by the global Covid-19 pandemic.

Case study methodology
The methodology of the case study is followed by the methodology of another partial goal of the article, and that is the implementation of marketing research. Due to the fact that the research needs to be presented in detail, it will again be solved as a separate methodology, divided into individual phases as it is perceived in the literature.

Marketing research methodology

Planning stage
In the planning stage, the most important step is to determine the goal of the research and to set research questions. The research goal is to determine the attitudes of important internal stakeholders, ie in this case from employees to social responsibility activities carried out by the employer. The individual activities addressed in the case study were communicated in different ways, designed for different groups and focused on all areas of sustainability. The research therefore unified their view so that important links could be extracted that could help in further setting up CSR activities in the future. Two research questions were set, based on the need to reveal attitudes, especially among different socio-demographic groups of internal stakeholders:
• Can different perceptions of CSR activities be demonstrated based on the age or gender of internal stakeholders?
• Does job classification affect the perception of CSR activities?

It is the focus on these indicators that can clearly demonstrate the impact of CSR activities on different groups of employees, while also providing opportunities to work with these internal stakeholders in the future to maximize the effectiveness of CSR activities.

Quantitative marketing research was chosen to address the research goal and research questions, which was carried out by an online questionnaire survey. Similar data on the evaluation of CSR activities are not available, so it was necessary to obtain them by primary research. Of course, the problem itself could also be solved by qualitative research, which is used more often to determine attitudes, but it would not be possible to generalize some findings, which would significantly limit the possibilities of using research findings in practice. Quantitative research in this case therefore serves as a basis for obtaining objective data that can be quantified and statistically expressed. At the same time, it uses a larger base of respondents, which further supports the possibility of applying some recommendations in practice, as it contains a larger group of important stakeholders than would be the case if choosing one of the qualitative methods.

Only the internal stakeholders of ŠKODA AUTO, a. s., i.e. its direct employees, were included in the target group of this research. Agency workers were excluded because their turnover is relatively high and their inclusion in the research could lead to data bias. In this case, internal stakeholders are important in terms of proving the impact of Consumer Social Responsibility activities on the perception of ŠKODA AUTO, a. s. as a responsible employer, respecting sustainability and solidarity in crisis situations in all areas.

The research sample was compiled quota, according to internal unpublishable information of ŠKODA AUTO, a. s. To determine representativeness, a non-parametric chi-square test was performed, i.e., based on significance values greater than 0.05, it was determined whether the sample reflected the structure of the base set, based on gender, age, and job classification.

The schedule of the research itself was set in the form of a Gantt chart and adhered to the maximum extent in the implementation stage.

Table 1: Calendar of processing
Source: Authors

The only deviation from the plan was the extension of data collection. This was slightly complicated by the gradual start of production at ŠKODA AUTO, a. s., so it was necessary to keep the questionnaire available for a longer period of time. At the same time, a shorter time allowance than planned was used to evaluate the outputs, as the results were clearly interpretable.

The piloting took place on a limited sample of respondents and helped to clarify the questionnaire, simplify the wording and assess the suitability of the selected identification criteria. Subsequently, data were collected in cooperation with the management of ŠKODA AUTO, a. s., on the basis of the dissemination of a questionnaire created in a user-friendly Google Forms environment. After closing the questionnaire, the information was transferred to Microsoft Excel for transcoding into statistically measurable quantities. This file was then statistically evaluated in IBM SPSS Statistics.

Pearson’s chi-square test of good agreement was used to detect basic relationships and connections, at the level of descriptive statistics, using contingency tables. (VŠE 2020) Only relationships with asymph were subject to the record. sig. less than 0.05. If a value lower than 0.05 is reached between two variables, it can be said that they have a certain relationship between them.

Figure 2: Pearson’s chi-square
Source: VŠE (2020)

However, the chi-square test does not say anything else about the nature of the relationship between the variables, and it cannot be assumed that all relationships are significant enough to be generalized. In order for the interpretation of the research to be meaningful, it is necessary to know whether the relationship is conclusive with regard to individual identification criteria, such as age, gender or job classification. For this reason, the so-called adjusted residues were used in the contingency tables.

The adjusted residue is based on the difference between the empirical and the expected frequency, and when its value is higher than 2.00 (resp. – 2.00 for the negative direction of relations), we can be sure (with 95% probability) that the difference between the frequencies did not arise by chance. In the case of values greater than or equal to 3.29 (resp. – 3.29 for negatively oriented relations), the probability of a random deviation occurring is less than 0.1%. The adjusted residues therefore determine the extent to which the assumption of independence is violated, which is satisfactory for the purposes of evaluating these variables. In this way, it is possible not only to prove relationships with the socio-demographic indicator, but also to specify for which internal categories these significant relationships apply. Again, only statistically significant relationships were retained, outliers were excluded. Based on this evaluation, significant relationships between knowledge or attitudes to CSR activities and various socio-demographic groups of internal stakeholders were extracted.

Case Study

ŠKODA AUTO a. s., based in Mladá Boleslav in the Czech Republic, is one of the companies in the automotive division of the Volkswagen Group. Its main economic activity consists in the development, production and sale of cars, components, original parts and accessories and in the provision of service services. The exclusive shareholder of the company is VOLKSWAGEN FINANCE LUXEMBURG SA with its registered office in Strassen in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, whose parent company is VOLKSWAGEN AG with 100% share. ŠKODA AUTO, a. s. manages three production plants in the Czech Republic – Mladá Boleslav, Vrchlabí and Kvasiny plant in Indian in Aurangabad. Furthermore, the company holds a 100% stake in ŠKODA AUTO Slovensko, s. r. o., and in ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab s. r. o It has less than 50% shares in OOO VOLKSWAGEN Group Rus, Digitech Automotive s. r. o, in the heating plant ŠKO-ENERGO s. r. o. and in the company ŠKO-ENERGO-FIN s. r. o. ŠKODA vehicles are manufactured in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, India, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Ukraine. (ŠKODA AUTO, 2009).

Given that the paper focuses on the social responsibility of ŠKODA AUTO, a. s. during the COVID-19 pandemic, its results and activities will be presented for the first quarter of 2020.

ŠKODA AUTO Group recorded sales of EUR 4.85 billion in the first quarter of 2020. Compared to last year, this is a 1.4% decrease. The operating result reached the value of 307 million euros and thus remains at a solid level as a return on sales of 6.3%. However, in comparison with the record results of 2019, it is shown that the current economic situation and the necessary measures taken against the further spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic have sensitively affected ŠKODA AUTO’s business activities. (ŠKODA AUTO, 2020). The necessary measures taken against the further spread of the coronavirus pandemic COVID-19 and their schedule were as follows:

ŠKODA AUTO, a. s. confirmed two cases of COVID-19 virus infection on March 17, 2020 at 3:00 p.m. ŠKODA AUTO employees were informed about this situation via the company portal. At the same time, ŠKODA AUTO employees received information about the health status of their colleagues and thorough disinfection of workplaces. For preventive reasons, several other employees remained in domestic quarantine.

On Wednesday, March 18, 2020 at 10:00 PM, ŠKODA AUTO, a. s. closed its Czech plants in Mladá Boleslav, Kvasiny and Vrchlabí. From 18 March 2020 to 29 March 2020, all employees were entitled to a salary of 70% of their average earnings. From March 30, then 75% of the average earnings. Due to the need to maintain the continuity of certain activities, some employees worked at ŠKODA AUTO even during the production shutdown. These employees were not affected by the above measures. The rules for the use of mobile work were set by individual superiors in agreement with the relevant member of the Board of Directors responsible for the area.

On 17 April 2020, the ŠKODA AUTO working team, together with the social partner KOVO Trade Unions, prepared a set of more than 80 binding measures for the safe start of employees after the resumption of operations. It was a health and organizational measure for both production facilities and office space.

On April 27, 2020, resumption of production began in the Czech plants in Mladá Boleslav, Kvasiny and Vrchlabí. The resumption of operations had several phases, with phase 0 including preparation for subsequent phases and the application of individual measures, where the highest degree of sensitization applied. In phase 1, the start of production took place with the maximum deployment of measures from the approved catalog of rules and measures at the highest degree of sensitization. In phase 2, production with mitigated safety measures was started and in phase 3 a further reduction of safety measures was implemented compared to phase 2. Employees (including agency staff) were introduced to the following safety measures via the Internal Communication channels on the ŠKODA Space portal, VIMEO channel, Týdeník, leaflets and bulletin boards or a special issue of the Newsletter for Masters. Managers and champions informed their teams and pointed out specific measures concerning their specific departments. Inquiries from employees regarding the current situation were handled by e-mail in cooperation with the Internal Communications Department. Special safety precautions had to be observed in the following areas or processes:
• snack corners, team spaces,
• smoking corners,
• change rooms and showers,
• operation of gates and receptions,
• temperature measurement,
• catering,
• disinfection of tools and means of production,
• logistics,
• transport of employees,
• hostels,
• offices,
• service cars,
• event registration,
• communication,
• external companies,
• procedure in case of suspicion of COVID-19,
• waste and used face masks,
• self-assessment questionnaire before starting work.

By stopping production, ŠKODA AUTO, a. s. lost more than 100,000 cars. Falling sales, negative exchange rate effects and declining sales significantly affected the result. It expects the greatest burden resulting from the coronavirus crisis in the second quarter, followed by a gradual recovery in the third quarter and a possible return to last year’s level in the fourth quarter. (Maier, April 2020). Nevertheless, ŠKODA AUTO, a. s. did not cease to fulfill its social responsibility and at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to its normal CSR activities, it focused on the form of assistance listed in Table X below. in March 2020, ŠKODA AUTO, a. s. began cooperation with the Czech Technical University in Prague in the production of reusable respirators of the FFP3 category for medical staff. The technical department has started production of parts for these respirators on its 3D printers. After CTU developed the corresponding prototype, more than 750 pieces were produced in series production. In addition, the car manufacturer, together with other companies, is working to further increase the volume of their production. The masks are distributed by the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic. ŠKODA AUTO Logistics, in cooperation with the Czech company Prusa Research, distributed protective face shields to hospitals and general practitioners. More than 14,600 shields had been distributed by Easter. In addition, 3D printing of these transparent protective face shields has been taking place at the car manufacturer since the end of March. These were created in Mladá Boleslav with the help of technical development, a pilot hall and the ŠKODA Academy. The face shields were handed over to Klaudián Hospital in Mladá Boleslav. The protective face shields, manufactured next to Mladá Boleslav and also at the plant in Kvasiny, were, in agreement with the Ministry of Health of the Czech Republic, in addition to being used for ŠKODA AUTO employees, they were also intended for hospital staff in the region.

The employee collection for the support of hospitals in Mladá Boleslav, Rychnov nad Kněžnou and Semily took place from 27 April to the end of May, in which approximately CZK 381,000 was collected for high involvement of KOVO unions, ŠKODA AUTO, a. s. „matched” the amount to 500,000 CZK. The funds were used to purchase protective equipment and medical equipment, improve working conditions, modernize technical equipment of workplaces, energy and vitamin packages, mental health care, further education, development of IT competencies, active and passive rest and activities for children of health professionals.

As the largest provider of mobility for social services and other institutions in the field of Czech healthcare, the car manufacturer has donated 100 ŠKODA OCTAVIA cars with a total value of approximately 85 million crowns to humanitarian organizations in its home country. Facilities or organizations such as hospitals, social services, facilities for the elderly or non-governmental organizations (NGOs) offering field assistance to vulnerable fellow citizens could apply for cars. From 17 to 30 April 2020, organizations that met the set requirements could apply for ŠKODA OCTAVIA cars online via the NROS Foundation website (www.nros.cz). ŠKODA AUTO, a. s. approved this gift with the Minister of Health of the Czech Republic Adam Vojtěch and the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Jana Maláčová. The handover of the cars to the selected organizations took place from mid-May with the support of the KOVO Departments.

As part of the fight against the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, ŠKODA AUTO, a. s. made a fleet of more than 200 cars and 150 scooters available free of charge to charitable organizations, municipalities and healthcare professionals on the HoppyGo platform. ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab, on the other hand, ensured the mobility of doctors and medical staff in Prague free of charge with the help of 150 electric scooters from the fleet of the BeRider carsharing platform.

Furthermore, ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab, in cooperation with HoppyGo, opened a new ozone disinfection station, which was equipped with five devices and is able to clean up to ten cars per hour.

In the immediate vicinity of its Czech production plants, ŠKODA AUTO, a. s. also supported social services and facilities with direct financial assistance in the amount of almost ten million crowns. In Kvasiny and Rychnov nad Kněžnou, Aramark, a ŠKODA AUTO catering partner, donated 250 kilograms of food to social organizations.

Last but not least, ŠKODA AUTO, a. s. also actively involved its trainees, who sewed face masks within the joint project of the organization to help children and the city of Brandýs nad Labem. Volunteers sewed more than 6,000 face masks for doctors, medical staff and firefighters.

ŠKODA AUTO, a. s., as well as ŠKODA AUTO DigiLab, the BeRider, HoppyGo, Uniqway platforms and several ŠKODA dealers, financed all activities from its own resources. Partners such as the Czech Technical University in Prague, Prusa Research and many volunteers also took part in a number of other measures. Table X presents individual activities related to social responsibility during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic. Individual activities respect the division according to three pillars, which is presented in the theoretical part of the article, are focused on CSR activities during the COVID-19 pandemic beyond the normal activities carried out by ŠKODA AUTO, a. s. and verified by a questionnaire survey of their awareness or cooperation of ŠKODA AUTO employees.

Table 2: CSR activities in ŠKODA AUTO during the COVID 19 pandemic
Source: Authors

Perception of CSR activities by internal stakeholders during the crisis of coronavirus

Synthesis of the main outputs from marketing research
Given the aim of the article, which is to determine the attitudes of important internal stakeholders to the CSR activities of ŠKODA AUTO, a. s. at the time of the coronavirus crisis, information was synthesized based on the links between socio-demographic indicators, which were gender, age, and job classification.

Given that the flow of information in the company and the formation of employee attitudes can be considered a comprehensive system, these variables are considered exogenous. An exogenous variable is a variable that is determined outside the system, only affecting it to some extent. Thus, the significance of influencing other quantities from the position of the external variable was examined.

Variables with proven dependence according to the sex of the respondents
The research showed that gender is not a quantity with an extremely strong influence on other quantities, and thus on the perception of CSR activities in the surveyed company. Nevertheless, important relationships can be extracted that can help companies with subsequent CSR-oriented projects.

Table 3: Variables with proven dependence according to the sex
Source: Authors

Nevertheless, it is possible to find significant relationships that can serve as support in setting up future activities. Most of them reflect general norms and stereotypes, defined, for example, in Meyers-Levy (1989). Women are generally more socially oriented, while men are technically and pragmatically oriented. This also reflects proven dependence. Women are more active directly in social activities, in this case, more often than men, they considered or actually donated a contribution to support health care in Mladá Boleslav. On the other hand, men do not perceive the benefits of some implemented activities very positively; in the case of an activity focused on the collection and disposal of disposable face masks, there is even a contradiction when women believe that this project has the maximum benefit; At the same time, they believe that the activities of ŠKODA AUTO, a. s., as a marketing move.

Variables with proven dependence according to the age of the respondents
The age of the respondents was divided into four groups (up to 25 years; 26-35 years, 36-50 years; more than 50 years). Age has proven to be an exogenous variable generating a large number of important relationships that can be used in practice.

Table 4: Variables with proven dependence according to the age of the respondents
Source: Authors

In general, it can be stated that younger employees have a better perception of CSR activities. They have demonstrated knowledge and a better perception of the benefits of CSR projects, and it is very important that these activities are not perceived only as a marketing move. At the same time, respondents in the age group 36-50 state that this strengthens their relationship with the employer, thus strengthening their loyalty through social responsibility activities. At the same time, this group is the only one to perceive the Covid-19 pandemic as a serious threat, thanks to which their attitudes towards CSR activities are probably significantly better.

In contrast, respondents over the age of 50 can see not only lower knowledge of projects, but also a very low level of benefit from individual projects, with the exception of the collection and disposal of disposable face masks. On the contrary, they perceive the benefit as maximum. These respondents, even though the opposite could be expected, do not perceive the pandemic as a serious threat and consider their employer’s CSR activities to be a marketing move that does not contribute to building their loyalty.

Variables with proven dependence according to the job classification of respondents
By far the most variables with a strong statistical relationship were found on the basis of job classification. According to the job position of employees, it is therefore possible to successfully estimate the attitude of employees to various CSR activities implemented during the coronavirus crisis.

Table 5: Variables with proven dependence according to the job classification of respondents
Source: Authors

Technical and economic workers and managers show higher knowledge of individual projects, but workers show a higher level of knowledge in the staff collection to support the local hospital and at the same time actively participated in it and donated or considered a financial contribution.

Another interesting discrepancy is evident in the contribution of individual projects. While technical and economic workers have been shown to consider the benefits of a large number of projects to be very significant, workers and managers agree to the contrary. They consider the benefits of projects such as the donation of 100 ŠKODA Octavia cars or the printing of 3D respirators and face shields to be insignificant, which is why they are also unlikely to be actively involved in participatory activities. Some projects also proved to be insignificant for all groups of workers, such as disinfecting car interiors with ozone, or distributing face masks and disinfectants to local communities.

In addition, all groups of respondents according to job classification showed strong relationships to how sufficiently the individual projects were presented to the public. While technical and economic workers are convinced that the individual activities have been sufficiently presented, workers and managers do not share this view. This may be due to different approaches to different communication platforms and different styles of obtaining information between groups. A similar situation is repeated in the perception of projects as a marketing moves. While workers and managers approach CSR projects as a purely marketing activity, technical and economic workers perceive them as sincere social responsibility activities. Thanks to this, even these employees admit that their loyalty to the employer is strengthened, their belonging increases, so they personally benefit from the activities of their employer. Workers and managers, on the other hand, do not anticipate an increase in loyalty; the activities of their employer did not convince them to do so.

Managerial implications

A relatively important result, usable in practice, is the demonstration of the relationship between the Facebook platform and women. Women generally tend to participate actively and perceive the benefits of CSR activities as valuable. In practice, therefore, it is possible to use social networks for their better information, specifically Facebook, where a relatively large intervention can be expected. In the future, therefore, it is possible to build a CSR campaign on this communication platform, aimed primarily at women, with an emphasis on the benefits of activities and opportunities for active involvement.

At the same time, it is necessary to address the attitudes of men in the future, as they are rather reluctant or even negative towards the socially oriented activities of their employer. To decipher this setting, follow-up, ideally qualitative research should be carried out, focusing on how to achieve a better perception of the benefits of CSR activities, in terms of truly honest assistance where it is needed, not just as a marketing visibility for the company.

The evaluation of communication platforms should also be involved in managerial implications, as it has been shown that it is necessary to influence two basic groups of employees. Strengthen the good perception of younger employees, while it is appropriate to use again especially social networks, which are the leading means of communication for the younger generation. On the contrary, for example, for employees under the age of 25, the internal portal of ŠKODA AUTO, a. s. is considered an inappropriate means of communication with which they do not work. The individual projects are therefore to communicate more modernly towards younger employees, using not only internal media and to focus on the benefits of projects that could further deepen belonging to the employer.

For communication with employees over the age of 50, it is then appropriate to choose more traditional, internal media. The research proved the relationship with the Trade Unionist communication platform, which is a professional periodical of the Kovo Departments. A campaign aimed at informing the existence and real benefits of projects in this medium could then significantly contribute to changing the negative attitudes of this generation towards CSR activities. Overall, however, it is necessary to work actively with this group of respondents, as they are experienced employees who are often mentors of a new generation of employees. As a result, stereotypes and prejudices are spreading, which nowadays need to be slowly changed towards a sustainable society as such.

In addition, the research identified suitable communication platforms that can again help in correctly targeting the communication of CSR projects to employees. It is important to focus on problematic groups of employees, which are workers and managers, whose attitudes towards social responsibility projects are equally rather negative. Internal sources of information are especially important for workers, however, for example, working through the ŠKODA AUTO Portal is very inappropriate, as they hardly use it at all. The internal periodical Odborar is important for them, where projects could be more clearly specified, so that even this group of workers is aware of their contribution and impact on the local community.

Managers also prefer internal sources of information, a relationship with another periodical has been proven, and that is ŠKODA Mobil, a monthly magazine published in both electronic and printed form, which is distributed to all ŠKODA AUTO, a. s. plants and buildings. Sensitively chosen emphasis on benefits, offering participation and informing about the real effects of individual activities could significantly contribute to changing attitudes about the marketing move and help start the process of strengthening loyalty to the employer and employees over 50 years of age.

For technical and economic workers, their positive approach to social responsibility needs to be further strengthened. The research showed their very positive attitude towards the implemented activities, so they are a suitable reference group for further building these attitudes and at the same time for further dissemination of the idea among other groups of workers. They find out information most often through social networks and also on the internal portal of the ŠKODA AUTO, a. s. Both of these platforms should therefore continue to be used to communicate similar CSR activities, as they clearly reach the right target group.

Conclusion

The article focused on the perception of socially responsible activities during the COVID 19 pandemic by internal stakeholders. A company in the automotive industry was chosen, which not only contributes its business activity to the growth of the Czech economy but is aware of the importance of CSR activities even in the difficult times of recent months. It should be noted that in 2019, the selected company received an award from a foreign investor responsible for its CSR activities. (iDnes 2020).

A case study focused on ŠKODA AUTO, a. s. presented the situation of the company during the COVID 19 pandemic. Subsequently, it presented a list of CSR activities in connection with the fight against coronavirus. The most mediated and internally communicated projects were selected. The attitude of employees, as key internal stakeholders of the company, towards their justification, importance and internal and external communication was found. The results of the questionnaire survey then described the perception of CSR activities and the suitability of their communication and selected communication tools. In addition, the interpretation of the results suggests a link with age, gender and job classification.

If we take into account the gender of the respondents, women clearly perceive CSR activities during a pandemic more positively. They also participated more in these activities. With regard to age, a very positive relationship to CSR activities can be observed during a pandemic among younger respondents. Over the age of fifty, this attitude has weakened significantly, and even respondents in this age group do not consider coronavirus a threat and perceive CSR activities only as a marketing move for the company. Job classification is also decisive in connection with the perception of activities. Technical and economic staff and managers have known more projects in the fight against COVID 19 and see them as a great asset. The workers mostly knew only the financial collection, but they participated in it themselves.

Thanks to the results, the Facebook profile in particular appears to be a communication platform for women. Here, the company should strengthen, above all, a positive attitude towards activities for men. From the point of view of age, Facebook is also a suitable platform for younger respondents and strengthening their positive perception of CSR activities. With regard to job classification, Facebook is a suitable communication channel especially for workers and internal media (Trade union, ŠKODA AUTO portal or ŠKODA Mobil) are also very often used by all target groups.

Thus, it can be stated that the most inclined to CSR activities are women, respondents of younger age. On the contrary, the elderly population is skeptical about these activities. It is appropriate to combine communication channels, strengthen internal communication more so that target groups less informed about the benefits of CSR activities are affected and strengthen the relationship with their employer.

Managerial implications are not strictly directed only to the selected company. With regard to the specifics of the business environment, it is possible to use the interpreted data in a generalized form for general managerial decisions on involvement in CSR activities in the event of another pandemic wave. It is also necessary to prepare with consideration to the use of communication channels with regard to the target group we want to reach and the possibilities that the company has at its disposal. It is definitely appropriate to communicate activities, to point out their importance and justification. In this way, the company not only strengthens awareness of the company’s activities and sincere efforts, but also builds a stronger bond with internal stakeholders – employees.

Text of the first part. Bibliographic citations are directly in the text according to International Standard ISO 690 as follows: The main instrument of strategic control is marketing audit. (Kotler 1998, p. 34). Complete list of references is being listed in a separate part Nr. 6 List of References.

Poznámky/Notes

This part is for notes. Notes can, but do not have to be used in contribution. Footnotes must not be used in text.

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Kľúčové slová/Key words

corporate social responsibility, COVID 19, corona, internal stakeholders, marketing communication, stakeholders, triple-bottom-line
společenská odpovědnost firem, COVID 19, korona, interní stakeholdeři, marketingová komunikace, stakeholdeři, triple-bottom-line

JEL klasifikácia/JEL Classification

M31, M51

Résumé

CSR v době koronavirové
Článek prezentuje aktivity společenské odpovědnosti v době pandemie COVID-19 a vnímání těchto aktivit interními stakeholder. Mnoho úspěšných podniků by chtěla být vice sociálně odpovědná nejen v obvyklých časech, ale také během krize. Chtějí podporovat a pomáhat společnosti. Článek uvádí případovou studii ŠKODA AUTO. Jak podnik pomáhal společnosti svými CSR aktivitami a jak vnímali interní stakeholdeři tyto aktivity. Popis jejich vnímání je založen na výsledcích dotazníkového šetření z měsíců květen/červen 2020, těsně po nouzovém stavu a restriktivních opatřeních. Smysl CSR aktivit je také v marketingové komunikaci. Proto se výzkumníci zaměřili také na efektivitu marketingové komunikace interním stakeholderům.

Recenzované/Reviewed

10. September 2020 / 29. September 2020