Health-care preventive measures, logistics challenges and corporate social responsibility during the COVID-19 pandemic: break the ice

Sasmoko, Lodhi M. S.; Aziz, A. R. A.; Bandar, N. F. A.; Embong, R.; Jabor, M. K.; Anis, S. N. M.; Zaman, K.

Purpose The study aims to analyze the role of coronavirus testing capacity to possibly reduce the case fatality ratio (CFR) in a large cross-section of countries. The study controlled health-care expenditures, logistics performance index (LPI), carbon damages, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) to understand the nature of causation between the CFR and stated factors. Design/methodology/approach The study used a cross-sectional regression apparatus for coefficient estimates and variance decomposition analysis (VDA) for forecasting relationships between the variables over time. Findings The results confirmed the W-shaped relationship between CFR and case-to-test ratio (CTR) in the presence of a LPI that exacerbates the CFR cases across countries. The VDA estimates suggest that carbon damages, logistics activities, and CSR are likely to influence CFR over time. Originality/value To the best of the authors' knowledge, the study is believed to be the first study that assesses the W-shaped relationship between the CFR and CTR in the presence of dynamic variables, which helps to formulate long-term sustainable health-care policies worldwide.