The financial crisis has brought about dramatic consequences for economies and societies. Questions emerge about responsibility for the crisis and, implicitly or explicitly irresponsibility; the obligations to take responsibility for the costs and other adverse effects of the recession; and the...

We exploit the Great Recession of 2008 to study how firms view corporate social responsibility (CSR). When confronted with an adverse exogenous shock, firms are forced to prioritize. Our results show that, during the Great Recession, firms do not lessen their overall CSR investments, suggesting...