IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i2p483-d475752.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Communication of Socially-Responsible Activities by Higher Education Institutions

Author

Listed:
  • Libena Tetrevova

    (Department of Economy and Management of Chemical and Food Industry, Faculty of Chemical Technology, University of Pardubice, 53210 Pardubice, Czech Republic)

  • Jan Vavra

    (Department of Economy and Management of Chemical and Food Industry, Faculty of Chemical Technology, University of Pardubice, 53210 Pardubice, Czech Republic)

  • Simona Munzarova

    (Department of Economy and Management of Chemical and Food Industry, Faculty of Chemical Technology, University of Pardubice, 53210 Pardubice, Czech Republic)

Abstract

Higher education institutions play a fundamental role in the scientific, economic, social, and cultural development of each and every society. In view of new challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of their social responsibility and ability to effectively communicate the socially–responsible activities which are performed is growing. The aim of this article is to analyze and evaluate the scope and structure of socially-responsible activities communicated on the websites of public higher education institutions operating in a small post-communist country where education plays a traditional role—the Czech Republic, and to formulate recommendations for improvement of the level of communication of social responsibility by higher education institutions. Primary data was obtained using latent analysis of the content of the websites of all public higher education institutions operating in the Czech Republic. The CE3SPA method was applied. The survey which was performed shows that the level of communication of social responsibility by higher education institutions in the Czech Republic is low. Activities in the field of economic and social responsibility are communicated in the greatest scope. On the contrary, activities in the field of environmental responsibility are communicated the least. Public higher education institutions in the Czech Republic should therefore apply the measures proposed in the article, these also being transferrable to practice in other countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Libena Tetrevova & Jan Vavra & Simona Munzarova, 2021. "Communication of Socially-Responsible Activities by Higher Education Institutions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-17, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:2:p:483-:d:475752
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/2/483/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/2/483/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zhimin Liu & Goodluck Jacob Moshi & Cynthia Mwonya Awuor, 2019. "Sustainability and Indicators of Newly Formed World-Class Universities (NFWCUs) between 2010 and 2018: Empirical Analysis from the Rankings of ARWU, QSWUR and THEWUR," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-29, May.
    2. Daniela De Filippo & Leyla Angélica Sandoval-Hamón & Fernando Casani & Elías Sanz-Casado, 2019. "Spanish Universities’ Sustainability Performance and Sustainability-Related R&D+I," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-21, October.
    3. Luis Cabedo & Marta Royo & Lidón Moliner & Teresa Guraya, 2018. "University Social Responsibility towards Engineering Undergraduates: The Effect of Methodology on a Service-Learning Experience," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-17, June.
    4. Dawid Szutowski & Piotr Ratajczak, 2016. "The Relation between CSR and Innovation. Model Approach," Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation, Fundacja Upowszechniająca Wiedzę i Naukę "Cognitione", vol. 12(2), pages 1-1.
    5. Zhanna Belyaeva & Simone Domenico Scagnelli & Mark Thomas & Maurizio Cisi, 2018. "Student perceptions of university social responsibility: implications from an empirical study in France, Italy and Russia," World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 14(1/2), pages 23-42.
    6. Yueh-Min Huang & Ming-Yuan Hsieh, 2020. "An Interdisciplinary Research on Students’ Employability in Technology Education to Advance Higher Education Enrollment Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-16, February.
    7. Roberts, Robin W., 1992. "Determinants of corporate social responsibility disclosure: An application of stakeholder theory," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 17(6), pages 595-612, August.
    8. Issam Kouatli, 2018. "The contemporary definition of university social responsibility with quantifiable sustainability," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 15(7), pages 888-909, November.
    9. Masaru Yarime & Yuko Tanaka, 2012. "The Issues and Methodologies in Sustainability Assessment Tools for Higher Education Institutions," Journal of Education for Sustainable Development, , vol. 6(1), pages 63-77, March.
    10. Andrew Crane & Sarah Glozer, 2016. "Researching Corporate Social Responsibility Communication: Themes, Opportunities and Challenges," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(7), pages 1223-1252, November.
    11. Alexander Dahlsrud, 2008. "How corporate social responsibility is defined: an analysis of 37 definitions," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, January.
    12. John C. Scott, 2006. "The Mission of the University: Medieval to Postmodern Transformations," The Journal of Higher Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 77(1), pages 1-39, January.
    13. Libena Tetrevova & Martina Jelinkova, 2019. "Municipal Social Responsibility of Statutory Cities in the Czech Republic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-19, April.
    14. Sascha Kraus & Matthias Breier & Sonia Dasí-Rodríguez, 2020. "The art of crafting a systematic literature review in entrepreneurship research," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 1023-1042, September.
    15. Gaur, Ajai & Kumar, Mukesh, 2018. "A systematic approach to conducting review studies: An assessment of content analysis in 25years of IB research," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(2), pages 280-289.
    16. Guillermo Domínguez-Fernández & Esther Prieto-Jiménez & Peter Backhouse & Eduardo Ismodes, 2020. "Cybersociety and University Sustainability: The Challenge of Holistic Restructuring in Universities in Chile, Spain, and Peru," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-20, July.
    17. Emerson Wagner Mainardes & Helena Alves & Mario Raposo, 2010. "An Exploratory Research on the Stakeholders of a University," Journal of Management and Strategy, Journal of Management and Strategy, Sciedu Press, vol. 1(1), pages 76-88, December.
    18. R. Daniel Wadhwani & Gabriel Galvez-Behar & Joris Mercelis & Anna Guagnini, 2017. "Academic entrepreneurship and institutional change in historical perspective," Post-Print halshs-01579970, HAL.
    19. Emanuela Colombo & Lorenzo Mattarolo, 2017. "Energy and development: the role of academia in education, research, and technological cooperation for sustainability," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 6(1), January.
    20. Rosalia G. Castillo-Villar, 2020. "Identifying determinants of CSR implementation on SDG 17 partnerships for the goals," Cogent Business & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(1), pages 1847989-184, January.
    21. Daniela M. Salvioni & Simona Franzoni & Raffaella Cassano, 2017. "Sustainability in the Higher Education System: An Opportunity to Improve Quality and Image," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-27, May.
    22. Grougiou, Vassiliki & Dedoulis, Emmanouil & Leventis, Stergios, 2016. "Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting and Organizational Stigma: The Case of “Sin” Industries," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 905-914.
    23. Soriya Sushila & Dhaigude Amol, 2016. "A Study of Corporate Web-Based Reporting in Hotel Industry," Asian Economic and Financial Review, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 6(11), pages 661-680.
    24. Waris Ali & Maha Faisal Alsayegh & Zubair Ahmad & Zeeshan Mahmood & Javed Iqbal, 2018. "The Relationship between Social Visibility and CSR Disclosure," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-32, March.
    25. Soriya Sushila & Dhaigude Amol, 2016. "A Study of Corporate Web-Based Reporting in Hotel Industry," Asian Economic and Financial Review, Asian Economic and Social Society, vol. 6(11), pages 661-680, November.
    26. Francisco-Javier Cortado & Ricardo Chalmeta, 2016. "Use of social networks as a CSR communication tool," Cogent Business & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(1), pages 1187783-118, December.
    27. Libena Tetrevova & Michal Patak & Iryna Kyrylenko, 2019. "Web-based CSR communication in post-communist countries," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(10), pages 866-871, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Abedalqader Rababah & Natalya I. Nikitina & Veronica M. Grebennikova & Zhanna R. Gardanova & Angelina O. Zekiy & Vadim V. Ponkratov & Nadezhda N. Bashkirova & Nikolay V. Kuznetsov & Tatyana I. Volkova, 2021. "University Social Responsibility during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Universities’ Case in the BRICS Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-29, June.
    2. Martina Jelinkova & Libena Tetrevova & Jan Vavra & Simona Munzarova, 2021. "The Sharing Economy in the Context of Sustainable Development and Social Responsibility: The Example of the Czech Republic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-18, September.
    3. Sónia Rolland Sobral & Natacha Jesus-Silva & Abílio Cardoso & Fernando Moreira, 2021. "EU27 Higher Education Institutions and COVID-19, Year 2020," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-15, June.
    4. Hassan Adamu & Syaheerah Lebai Lutfi & Nurul Hashimah Ahamed Hassain Malim & Rohail Hassan & Assunta Di Vaio & Ahmad Sufril Azlan Mohamed, 2021. "Framing Twitter Public Sentiment on Nigerian Government COVID-19 Palliatives Distribution Using Machine Learning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-21, March.
    5. Belén López, 2022. "How Higher Education Promotes the Integration of Sustainable Development Goals—An Experience in the Postgraduate Curricula," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-13, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hans B. Christensen & Luzi Hail & Christian Leuz, 2021. "Mandatory CSR and sustainability reporting: economic analysis and literature review," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 1176-1248, September.
    2. Martina Jelinkova & Libena Tetrevova & Jan Vavra & Simona Munzarova, 2021. "The Sharing Economy in the Context of Sustainable Development and Social Responsibility: The Example of the Czech Republic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-18, September.
    3. Habarurema Jean Baptiste & Yan Guang Cai & A. Y. M. Atiquil Islam & Nzabalirwa Wenceslas, 2022. "A Systematic Review of University Social Responsibility in Post-Conflict Societies: The Case of the Great Lakes Region of East Africa," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 164(1), pages 439-475, November.
    4. Hong Chen & Wenzhe Hu, 2020. "Determining Whether Trade Can Affect Regional Environmental Sustainability from the Perspective of Environmental Pollution," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-15, February.
    5. María Luisa Pajuelo Moreno & Teresa Duarte-Atoche, 2019. "Relationship between Sustainable Disclosure and Performance—An Extension of Ullmann’s Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-33, August.
    6. Tomina Saveanu & Daniel Badulescu & Sorana Saveanu & Maria-Madela Abrudan & Alina Badulescu, 2021. "The Role of Owner-Managers in Shaping CSR Activity of Romanian SMEs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-19, October.
    7. Comincioli, Nicola & Poddi, Laura & Vergalli, Sergio, 2012. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Firms’ Performance: A Stratigraphical Analysis," Economy and Society 139488, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    8. Manuel Muñoz-Suárez & Natividad Guadalajara & José M. Osca, 2020. "A Comparative Analysis between Global University Rankings and Environmental Sustainability of Universities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-19, July.
    9. Anirban Chakraborty & Sumit Kumar & L. S. Shashidhara & Anjali Taneja, 2021. "Building Sustainable Societies through Purpose-Driven Universities: A Case Study from Ashoka University (India)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-20, July.
    10. Ciampi, Francesco & Faraoni, Monica & Ballerini, Jacopo & Meli, Francesco, 2022. "The co-evolutionary relationship between digitalization and organizational agility: Ongoing debates, theoretical developments and future research perspectives," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    11. Orhan Akisik & Graham Gal, 2014. "Financial performance and reviews of corporate social responsibility reports," Mathematical Methods of Operations Research, Springer;Gesellschaft für Operations Research (GOR);Nederlands Genootschap voor Besliskunde (NGB), vol. 25(3), pages 259-288, December.
    12. Luis Otero-González & Pablo Durán-Santomil & Luis-Ignacio Rodríguez-Gil & Rubén Lado-Sestayo, 2021. "Does a Company’s Profitability Influence the Level of CSR Development?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-15, March.
    13. Muhammad Akram Naseem & Jun Lin & Ramiz ur Rehman & Muhammad Ishfaq Ahmad & Rizwan Ali, 2019. "Moderating role of financial ratios in corporate social responsibility disclosure and firm value," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(4), pages 1-19, April.
    14. Paolo Cominetti & Laura Poddi & Sergio Vergalli, 2013. "The Push Factors for Corporate Social Responsibility: A Probit Analysis," Journal of Knowledge Management, Economics and Information Technology, ScientificPapers.org, vol. 3(2), pages 1-2, April.
    15. Brunella Arru, 2015. "Indagine sulla comunicazione della responsabilit? sociale delle societ? quotate italiane," MERCATI & COMPETITIVIT?, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2015(4), pages 15-46.
    16. Víctor Meseguer-Sánchez & Emilio Abad-Segura & Luis Jesús Belmonte-Ureña & Valentín Molina-Moreno, 2020. "Examining the Research Evolution on the Socio-Economic and Environmental Dimensions on University Social Responsibility," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-30, July.
    17. Poddi, Laura & Vergalli, Sergio, 2009. "Does Corporate Social Responsibility Affect the Performance of Firms?," Institutions and Markets Papers 52531, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    18. Elena Aleksandrovna Mayorova, 2019. "Corporate social responsibility disclosure: evidence from the European retail sector," Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, VsI Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, vol. 7(2), pages 891-905, December.
    19. Saier Su & Fei Zhu & Haibo Zhou, 2022. "A Systematic Literature Review on Ownership and Corporate Social Responsibility in Family Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-25, June.
    20. Patrick J. Ferguson & Jane Hronsky & Matt Pinnuck, 2023. "Who pays attention to sustainability reports and why? Evidence from Google search activity," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(3), pages 3519-3551, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:2:p:483-:d:475752. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.