Study on Professors’ Perception With Respect to Higher Education Institutions’ Socially Responsible Initiatives

Stadler, Adriano; Reis, Edson Andrade dos; Arantes, Elaine Cristina; Corso, Jansen Maia Del

doi:10.15728/bbr.2017.14.6.3

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Articles • BBR, Braz. Bus. Rev. 14 (06) • Nov-Dec 2017 • https://doi.org/10.15728/bbr.2017.14.6.3 copy

Study on Professors’ Perception With Respect to Higher Education Institutions’ Socially Responsible Initiatives

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

ABSTRACT

The organization’s socially responsible actions integration and stakeholders’ demands is an increasingly encouraged practice by the market (Calabrese, Costa & Rosati, 2016Calabrese, A., Costa, R.,&Rosati F. (2016). Gender differences in customer expectations and perceptions of corporate social responsibility. Journal of Cleaner Production, 116, p. 135-149.). This article looks at the perception that the professor holds on the Higher Education Institution’s (HEI) socially responsible initiatives. Thus, a descriptive quantitative approach with non-probabilistic sample, accessibility and convenience was developed. The literature outlined the corporate social responsibility’s (CSR) main concepts, theories applications and stakeholders. Empirical research collected data from the HEI’s professors, through closed questionnaires. Descriptive analysis and multivariate statistics (cluster and factorial analysis) provided empirical evidence to the research. Results show the high concordance of professors in relation to the analysis categories: Economic, Legal, Ethical and Philanthropic, all of which are considered in this study, according to Carroll (2011). The sharpest legal dimension is given to the professors’ perception. Philanthropic responsibility showed the lowest agreement, coming out to the Carroll (2011) studies, which have supported this work.

Keywords:
Social responsibility; Corporate social responsibility; Stakeholder theory

CSR dimensions	Definition
Economical	The company must be profitable. It is the basis on which to support the other liabilities of the company (Carroll, 1991______. (1991). The pyramid of corporate social responsibility: toward the moral management of organizational stakeholders. Business Horizons, 34 (4), p. 39-48, Jul-Aug.). By disregarding social issues operating costs increase as well as affecting sales, causing a negative impact on the brand image and loss of talent (Grayson and Hodges, 2002Grayson, D. &Hodges. (2002). A. Compromisso social e gestão empresarial. São Paulo: Publifolha.). The CSR strategic management is relevant to the achievement of competitive advantage (Tachizawa, 2004Tachizawa, T. (2004). Gestão ambiental e responsabilidade social corporativa: estratégias de negócios focadas na realidade brasileira. 2 ed. São Paulo: Atlas .).
Legal	Complying with legislation. It is complying with the coding established by society through laws, determining what is right and wrong (Carroll, 1991______. (1991). The pyramid of corporate social responsibility: toward the moral management of organizational stakeholders. Business Horizons, 34 (4), p. 39-48, Jul-Aug.).
Ethical	Doing what is right, reasonable and fair. (Carroll, 1991______. (1991). The pyramid of corporate social responsibility: toward the moral management of organizational stakeholders. Business Horizons, 34 (4), p. 39-48, Jul-Aug.). "There is a demand for ethical and light performance taking it into account the needs of different groups that are by it [the company] affected" (Bessa, 2006:141). "Reflect on the values of the process of making business decisions, to determine how these values and decisions will affect various interest groups (Okay, 2003:66) they are present in business ethics. The truth and justice related to competitors, society, the consumer, the relationships with stakeholders and the company's own behavior (Koontz, Wihrich & Cannice, 2009Koontz, H.,Weihrich, H. &Cannice, M. (2009). Administração: uma perspectiva empresarial. São Paulo: McGraw-Hill.).
Philantropic	Exercising corporate citizenship. Contributing to society so that its life quality can be improved (Carroll, 1991______. (1991). The pyramid of corporate social responsibility: toward the moral management of organizational stakeholders. Business Horizons, 34 (4), p. 39-48, Jul-Aug.). Commitment to actions that promote the social welfare by meeting the demands of society (Barbieri and Cajazeira, 2012Barbieri, J. C. & Cajazeira, J. E. R. (2012). Responsabilidade Social Empresarial e Empresa Sustentável: da teoria à prática. 2 e. São Paulo: Saraiva.).

VBA Model dimensions	Description
Value	Fundamental element of any business and society field. Value is created by taking into account the needs of society through the production of goods and services, in order to exceed its expectations without causing damage from its production process.
Balance	Involving the stakeholders interests (groups with which the company relates to) and non-stakeholders (natural environment), which are satisfied in a balanced way so that everyone gets benefits from the organization's actions.
Accountability	Acting responsibly means that companies and their agents try to meet their economic, legal, philanthropic and ethical responsibilities, while printing a larger view of the business functions for the benefit of society. It is supported by the normative principles of accountability, transparency, keeping promises, liability, honesty, loyalty and integrity.

Stakeholders	Links stablished with CSR	Authors
Board of directors	CSR as corporate strategy as a way to create value and to generate competitive advantage.	Porter and Kramer (2002)Porter, M. E. & Kramer, M. R. (2002). The competitiveadvantage of corporate philanthropy. Harvard businessreview, [S.l.], p. 5-16.; Cespa and Cestone (2007)Cespa, G. &Cestone, G. (2007).Corporate SocialResponsibility and Managerial Entrenchment, Journal ofEconomics and Management Strategy, [S.l.], v. 16, p. 741-771.
Shareholders	Link between investment in CSR and investors´ reputation.	Barnea and Rubin (2010)Barnea, A.& Rubin, A. (2010). Corporate Social Responsibility as a Conflict Between Shareholders. Journal of Business Ethics, 97, p. 71-86. Doi 10.1007/s10551-010-0496-z. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-010-0496-...
Governance	CSR is linked to corporate governance especially with regard to the transparency of strategic decisions of senior management.	Beltratti (2005)Beltratti, A. (2005). The complementarity between corporategovernance and corporate social responsibility. GenevaPapers on Risk and Insurance, [S.l.], v. 30, p. 373-386.; Clarke (2005)Clarke, T. (2005). Accounting for Enron: Shareholder valueand stakeholder interests. Corporate Governance: anInternational Review, [S.l.], v. 13, p. 598-612.; Harjoto and Jo (2011)Harjoto, M. A. & Jo, H. (2011). Corporate Governance and CSRNexus. Journal of Business Ethics, [S.l.], v. 100, p. 45-67.
Governance	Development of conduct codes and corporate policies on human rights, standards for human resources and climate change.	Rasche and Kell (2010)Rasche, A. &Kell, G. (2010). The United Nations Global Compact:Achievements, trends and challenges. Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press.
Consumers	Growth of the link between consumer perception and organizations´ socio-environmental actions has increased in recent decades.	Brunk and Blümelhuber (2011)Brunk, K.H. &Blümelhuber, C. (2011). One strike and you’re out: qualitative insights into the formation of consumers’ ethical company or brand perceptions. J. Bus. Res. 64 (2), p. 134-141.
Consumers	Not all consumers are also concerned about the social and environmental organizations´ performance.	Lämsä et al (2008)Lämsä, A.M., Vehkaperä, M., Puttonen, T. , & Pesonen H.L.(2008). Effect of business education on women and men students’ attitudes on corporate responsibility insociety. J. Bus. Ethics 82 (1), p. 45-58.

A Variables Economical Responsibility	N	Média	Valor mínimo	Valor máximo	Desvio padrão
A1 – The educational institution offers courses that meet the demand for university education.	103	4.96	4.00	6.00	0.64
A2 - The monthly fee is fair.	103	4.88	2.00	6.00	0.98
A3 - The opening of new courses at HEI contributes to job creation.	103	5.58	2.00	6.00	0.73
A4 - The closure of courses is detrimental to the staff of the institution.	103	5.58	2.00	6.00	0.81
A5 - The existence of unfilled vacancies is harmful to the institution.	103	5.61	3.00	6.00	0.70
A6 - The investments in infrastructure is satisfactory.	103	3.00	1.00	5.00	1.29
A7 – The investments in teacher training is satisfactory.	103	3.34	1.00	6.00	1.34
A8 – The salary rewards are satisfactory.	103	3.01	1.00	6.00	1.30

B - Variables Legal Responsibility	N	Average	Minimum value	Maximum value	Standard deviation
B1 - The institution complies with all applicable laws	103	4.95	3.00	6.00	0.80
B2 - The institution complies with labor obligations under the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT)	103	5.11	3.00	6.00	0.79
B3 - The institution respects the Consumer Protection Code	103	4.50	2.00	6.00	1.34
B4 - The institution respects the environmental legislation	103	5.01	2.00	6.00	0.87
B5 - The institution respects the health and safety legislation to protect the physical integrity of its employees	103	4.50	2.00	6.00	1.34
B6 - The resignation and the workload reduction are harmful to the employee	103	5.67	4.00	6.00	0.64

C Variables – Ethical responsibilities	N	Average	Minimum value	Maximum value	Standard deviation
C1 - I am aware of the existence of the institution´s code of ethics	103	3.90	1.00	6.00	2.24
C2 - The institution maintains an ethical work environment	103	4.77	2.00	6.00	1.29
C3 - The institution respect the moral integrity of employees	103	5.14	3.00	6.00	1.15
C4 - The institution provides access to minorities	103	5.16	3.00	6.00	0.79
C5 - The institution does not harm anyone voluntarily	103	5.01	2.00	6.00	1.40
C6 - The institution disapproves of discrimination and respect differences	103	5.11	2.00	6.00	1.37
C7 - The institution combat sexual harassment and morale among staff and students	103	5.01	1.00	6.00	1.43
C8 - The institution disapproves of unfair dismissal policies	103	4.62	1.00	6.00	1.62

D - Variables – Philantropical responsibilities	N	Average	Minimum value	Maximum value	Standard deviation
D1 – I am aware of social projects developed by the institution	103	5.43	3.00	6.00	0.80
D2 - The institution invests material, human and financial resources in social projects	103	4.67	3.00	6.00	1.27
D3 - The institution encourages the participation of students in volunteer activities	103	4.87	3.00	6.00	1.16
D4 - The institution encourages the participation of faculty and staff in voluntary activities	103	3.93	1.00	6.00	1.75
D5 - The institution promotes the welfare of all involved stakeholders (students, teaching staff, etc.)	103	4.09	1.00	6.00	1.75
D6 - The institution promotes the quality of life of its employees, students and others involved	103	4.02	1.00	6.00	1.72

RESPONSIBILITIES	AVERAGE RESULTS
A - Economic	4.49
B - Legal	4.96
C - Ethics	4.84
D - Philantropic	4.50

Categories of analysis	High impact sub categories		Low impact sub categories
Economic responsibility	unfilled vacancies	direct impact on the economic responsibility of the institution	Infrastructure	These elements are not related to the economic responsibility of the organization
Legal responsibility	Dismissal and workload	Employment relationship that in his perception has greater	Health and safety	Professors may be unaware of the legal factors of the issue of job security
Ethical responsibility	Access of minorities to studies	Since the study Stadler (2007)Stadler, A. (2007). Responsabilidade social e imagem corporativa de uma instituição de ensino superior na percepção do corpo docente. Dissertação de Mestrado. UNIVALI - Universidade do Vale do Itajaí, Biguaçu - SC., which found this item an average of 4.43 and standard deviation of 1.58, it may have increased the perceived responsibility of the institution to provide schooling for minorities, promoting accessibility and, especially, including those who were on the margins of society.	Unfair dismissal policies	Professors do not seem to realize that the institution disapprove unfair dismissal policies.
Philantropic responsibility	Social projects	The communication actions of social actions are effective from the point of view of professors	Volunteering	It is necessary to develop integrated programs among the stakeholders of the institution

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[1] † Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Paraná. E-mail: adriano.stadler@ifpr.edu.br