CSR Performance During COVID‐19 in France: The Moderating Role of CSR Strategy

ABSTRACT This study examines the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance among French SBF120 firms within a highly stringent regulatory environment. Based on stakeholder and risk management theories, we examine whether pre‐crisis CSR strategies act as a buffer or constraint during an exogenous crisis. Using a fixed‐effects panel of 93 firms over the 2017–2022 period, we introduce novel exposure measures to capture firms' pandemic intensity. Our results show a robust positive relationship between contamination rates and CSR performance, whereas pre‐crisis CSR strategies negatively moderate this relationship. Sub‐score analyses across environmental, social, and governance (ESG) pillars and extensive robustness checks—including difference GMM estimations and a difference‐in‐differences approach—confirm the consistency of these findings. Overall, we highlight that the COVID‐19 pandemic underscored the significance of CSR, particularly in an extremely stringent regulatory setting like France. Nevertheless, pre‐pandemic CSR strategies may have constrained French SBF120 companies' adaptability during an unprecedented crisis.