The corporate social responsibility disclosure of the Romanian banking system during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The present paper explores the CSR informational asymmetry of the Romanian banking sector during the COVID-19 pandemic, using multiple case studies. The research results outline that the CSR activity was not properly exploited by the banks during the pandemic, strengthening the increasing visibility of the economic performance as part of the corporate social responsibility approach. The research methodology was organised in a three-step process: a content analysis, computation of a CSR scorecard based on Global Reporting Initiative guidelines and testing the effect of the CSR disclosure on the banks’ resilience during pandemic. The regression analysis positively relates the CSR score to the banks’ performance, suggesting that 29.8% variation in total net assets is explained by the independent variable CSR score. The main findings of the paper are significant in the banks’ transition to digital banking, assisting decision makers from banks in implementing appropriate CSR disclosure mechanisms.