Social Responsibility in Universities: Bibliometric and Literature Review

Background/purpose. This article analyses the importance of University Social Responsibility (SRU), which is driven by a change in the vision of academics. The SRU initiatives appropriately enhance the reputation and brand image of universities. When universities actively engage in social and environmental initiatives, they are seen as an agent of socialisation. This can attract academics and also improve relationships with stakeholders, including the local community, through communication that must go well beyond marketing efforts to recruit potential academics and new stakeholders. A comprehensive communication plan should improve the discourse on the value of universities while helping to create more responsible societies.

Indeed, this study focuses on how the university deploys its SRU principles through missions and interactions with society and the environment. Universities have the power to reshape the social and ecological domain to support the Social Development Goals.

Materials/Methods. This study is part of a bibliometric review process aimed at providing an in-depth analysis of the evaluation methods and models used to measure the impact of social responsibility in universities. This methodology was chosen for its ability to identify, evaluate and synthesise the results of recent empirical research, thus ensuring a comprehensive view of evaluative approaches in education. Based on the recommendations of bibliometric guidelines, we have followed a rigorous process to identify, select and analyse relevant studies.

Results. Our review revealed a significant growth in interest in SRU in the research community between 2018 and 2023, with a diversification of topics studied. Empirical research methods adopted include qualitative and quantitative approaches.

Conclusion. SRU refers to the commitment of organisations, including universities, to contribute to the well-being of society and the environment beyond their immediate academic mission. As such, the university that shapes future leaders has a moral and ethical responsibility to promote social and environmental sustainability.

Keywords: SRU, university, corporate, social responsibility, high school

References

Asemah, E. S., Okpanachi, R. A., & Olumuji, E. P. (2013). Universities and corporate social responsibility performance: An implosion of the reality. African Research Review, 7(4), 195-224. DOI:10.4314/afrrev.v7i4.12

Bokhari, A. A. (2017). Universities’ social responsibility (USR) and sustainable development: A conceptual framework. International Journal of Economics and Management Studies, 4(12), 8-16. DOI:10.14445/23939125/IJEMS-V4I12P102

Carroll, A. B. (1999). Corporate Social Responsibility: Evolution of a Definitional Construct. Business & Society, 38(3), 268–295.

Clawson, D. (2003). The Next Upsurge: Labor and the New Social Movements. Cornell University Press.

Dahlsrud, A. (2008). How Corporate Social Responsibility is Defined: An Analysis of 37 Definitions. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 15(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.132

Elbousserghini, J., Berger-Douce, S., & Jamal, Y. (2019). La RSE des PME: l’étude du contexte marocain. Revue internationale PME, 32(1), 19-40. DOI https://doi.org/10.7202/1059179aradresse copiéeune erreur s'est produite

Esfijani, A., Hussain, F. K., & Chang, E. (2012, June). An approach to university social responsibility ontology development through text analyses. In 2012 5th International Conference on Human System Interactions (pp. 1–7). IEEE. DOI:10.1109/HSI.2012.10

Espinoza-Espinoza, D. A. K., Dulanto-Vargas, J. A., Cáceres-LaTorre, O. A., Lamas-Castillo, F. E., Flores-Mir, C., Cervantes-Ganoza, L. A., ... & Cayo-Rojas, C. F. (2021). Association between periodontal disease and the risk of COVID-19 complications and mortality: a systematic review. Journal of International Society of Preventive and Community Dentistry, 11(6), 626-638. DOI: 10.4103/jispcd.JISPCD_189_21

Fonseca, I., Bernate, J., Betancourt, M., Barón, B., & Cobo, J. (2019, October). Developing social responsibility in university students. In Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Education Technology and Computers (pp. 215-218). DOI:10.1145/3369255.3369275

Gallego, C. W. M. (2014). La organización servidora de alto desempeño. Unaciencia Revista de Estudios e Investigaciones, 7(12), 90-93.

Gallardo-Vázquez, D., & Sanchez-Hernandez, M. I. (2014). Measuring Corporate Social Responsibility for competitive success at a regional level. Journal of Cleaner Production, 72, 14-22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.02.051

Hyman, R. (1997). The Future of Employee Representation. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 35(3), 309–336.

Kouatli, I. (2018). Fuzzimetric employee evaluations system (FEES): A multivariable-modular approach. Journal of intelligent & fuzzy systems, 35(4), 4717–4729. https://doi.org/10.3233/JIFS-181202

Larrán-Jorge, M., & Andrades-Peña, F. J. (2015). Analysis of social responsibility of universities from different theoretical stances. Revista iberoamericana de educación superior, 6(15), 91-107.

Larrán Jorge, M., & Andrades Peña, F. J. (2017). Analysing the literature on university social responsibility: A review of selected higher education journals. Higher Education Quarterly, 71(4), 302-319. DOI:10.1111/hequ.12122

Ladera-Castañeda, M., Paucar-Rodríguez, E., Cieza-Becerra, J., Castro-Rojas, M., Escobedo-Dios, J., Aliaga-Mariñas, A., ... & Cayo-Rojas, C. (2024). Factors associated with the perception of university social responsibility among dental students from two universities in the Peruvian capital: a multivariable regression analysis. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 23301. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-74182-1

Lô, A. (2017). Un FabLab d’entreprise pour favoriser l’ambidextrie des salariés. Revue française de gestion, 264(3), 81-99. https://doi.org/10.3166/rfg.2017.00113.

Martín-Rubio, I., & Andina, D. (2016). University knowledge transfer offices and social responsibility. Administrative Sciences, 6(4), 20. https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci6040020

Meseguer-Sánchez, V., Abad-Segura, E., Belmonte-Ureña, L. J., & Molina-Moreno, V. (2020). Examining the research evolution on the socio-economic and environmental dimensions of university social responsibility. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(13), 4729. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17134729

Mitov, E., Arabadzhieva, M., & Vutsova, A. (2024). Social cooperatives—A tool for a prosperous national economy. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence (Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 1058-1073). Sciendo. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/picbe-2024-0092

Moody, K. (2007). U.S. Labor in Trouble and Transition: The Failure of Reform from Above, the Promise of Revival from Below. Verso. https://doi.org/10.1177/030981680809500112

Nejati, M., Shafaei, A., Salamzadeh, Y., & Daraei, M. (2011). Corporate social responsibility and universities: A study of top 10 world universities' websites. African Journal of Business Management, 5(2), 440. DOI: 10.5897/AJBM10.554

Porter, M. E., & Kramer, M. R. (2006). Strategy and Society: The Link Between Competitive Advantage and Corporate Social Responsibility. Harvard Business Review, 84(12), 78–92.

Vasilescu, R., Barna, C., Epure, M., & Baicu, C. (2010). Developing university social responsibility: A model for the challenges of the new civil society. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2(2), 4177-4182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.03.660

Vutsova, A., Arabadzhieva, M., & Angelova, R. (2023). The youth entrepreneurship as response to the youth unemployment-examples of Western Balkan region. International Journal of Professional Business Review: Int. J. Prof. Bus. Rev., 8(6), 21. DOI: https://doi.org/10.26668/businessreview/2023.v8i6.2299

Wigmore-Álvarez, A., & Ruiz-Lozano, M. (2012). University social responsibility (USR) in the global context: An overview of literature. Business & Professional Ethics Journal, 475-498. DOI:10.5840/bpej2012313/424

Announcement

EDUPIJ Citation Metrics

EDUPIJ News!