Corporate social responsibility in higher education: concept, content, improvement

He, Sijin (2023) Corporate social responsibility in higher education: concept, content, improvement. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This research aims to explore the key concepts, main content, and central areas of improvements in CSR in the HE sector. Regarding this, three research questions were formulated: (1) What CSR activities are currently implemented in the HE sector? (2) What aspects of CSR should be covered in the HE sector from the stakeholders’ perspective? (3) How can CSR performance be improved in the HE sector? In research fieldwork, interview method was adopted for collecting data from 54 participants (incl. 17 HEI policymakers/executives, 17 academics, and 20 student representatives) from 20 different HEIs in China and in the UK. The data collected from these participants were analysed through thematic analysis in the forms of narrative text, thematic map, and statistical table.

By discussing the findings of the data analysis, contributions were made to both theoretical development and practice. The main theoretical contribution of this research was exploring what CSR means in HE context. Other theoretical contributions made by this research include identifying characteristics of CSR in the HE sector; adding ‘instrumental aspects’ and ‘political aspects’ to explain CSR in this sector; and specifying the linkage of SDGs with CSR in the context of HE. Practical implications were made in considering the aspects of CSR in the HE sector to better serve the interests of HEI’s stakeholders. This involved taking a path to improvement of CSR performance in the HE sector, and developing CSR strategy in terms of managing the quality of CSR activities.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Subjects: H Social Sciences > HM Sociology; L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB2300 Higher Education
• Colleges/Schools: College of Social Sciences > Adam Smith Business School > Management
• Supervisor's Name: Shafti, Dr. Farhad and Kominis, Dr. Georgios
• Date of Award: 2023
• Depositing User: Theses Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2023-83803
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 06 Sep 2023 07:27
• Last Modified: 06 Oct 2023 09:32
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.83803
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/83803