Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is increasingly becoming a strategic issue that has to be dealt with by top management. The aim of the present study is to analyse the role that women directors can play as driving forces behind the development of CSR in organisations, and contribute to sustainable development. Despite the fact that gender diversity is acquiring considerable importance, most research has focused on analysing how it affects financial performance. In this study, we analyse the implications that gender diversity has on CSR. To do so, we have carried out an empirical study of a sample of firms from a variety of countries and sectors to determine whether those firms with a higher percentage of women on the board of directors are more socially responsible. The results support the hypothesis that gender diversity has a positive influence on CSR. Female talent can play a strategic role in enabling firms to manage their social responsibility and sustainable practices appropriately. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

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In the context of education for sustainable development, the purpose of this paper is to report on the findings of a study in Spain into the extent to which corporate social responsibility (CSR) is taught in management schools. The study makes an exploratory and descriptive web-content analysis of the curriculum and subjects on Business and Management degrees at all universities in Spain. Our findings show that a high percentage of universities include CSR-related subjects on their curriculum. CSR content is taught as either specific CSR subjects (stand-alone CSR subjects) or as part of various subjects on the academic curriculum (embedded CSR subjects). Although at first sight our findings may seem promising, a more detailed analysis shows that few universities include stand-alone CSR subjects and that although many universities have embedded CSR subjects, the CSR content is by no means fully developed.

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In this editorial we are delighted to present the four papers included in this special issue. Each of them tackles different issues with important academic and managerial implications. Then, we will discuss the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the potential they represent for higher education institutions and management education, in particular. One of the most important challenges in this field will be how to introduce SDGs in management education, an area of interest for practitioners and academics.