A growing number of companies focus not just on generating economic value but on expanding their perspective, including social, human, and environmental aspects. Historically, companies mainly included corporate social responsibility (CSR) in their activities in economically promising times. But can CSR be applied in economically difficult times, too, as a potential strategic mechanism to recover from a company crisis? This study aims to advance understanding of strategic CSR and crisis recovery, and their possible relationship. The case study's findings suggest that strategic CSR can have a positive impact on crisis recovery and promote the revision of established practices required to manage a company crisis. The findings have relevance to companies seeking to innovate in the CSR space, to social entrepreneurs, and to researchers and practitioners interested in these topics. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment