Can enterprises have a positive impact on society through management of crisis?

Purpose - In this article we examine from a social point of view, how actually enterprises react to the impact of crises, and how social responsibility could be seen as an effective approach for crisis management. Methodology/approach - The adoption of a large-scale approach on this topic is not as well suited as the adopted case study approach, because we wanted to underline the mentality of the managers that shape the Romanians enterprise social action toward crises. Findings - Although many firms are strongly encouraged to develop corporate social responsibility, and the first reaction towards crises would be not to invest in the society due to cost cutting and because unfortunately such actions are not considered credentials in today's Romanian society, we could still highlight the fact that the chosen enterprise for our case study did exactly that and had success. Research limitations/implications - The study focused only on the end consumers from Sibiu. Practical implications - The case study provides valuable data on the how a Romanian enterprise reacted on crisis and managed it and fostered their competitiveness through improvement of social responsibility, positively influencing the society. Therefore social responsibility is an effective approach for crisis management. Originality/value - We have broaden the knowledge about some of the not so common reactions to a crisis and how these reactions could influence positively the society, offering a possible general guidance for other enterprises involved in this process.