Analysis of the actions of Ibero-American universities to achieve social responsibility by promoting responsible competences

Abstract

The importance of Higher Education Institutions (HEI) for social development is unquestionable due to their potential to contribute with intellectual solutions to social, economic, and environmental welfare in society. However, the lack of knowledge about University Social Responsibility (USR) causes inefficient managerial decisions when strategies are implemented in areas like university management, environmental care, university staff, promotion of responsible competencies, graduate employment, and responsible research. This article aims to answer the following research questions: Which areas of USR receive the most significant attention by Ibero-American universities? and how can universities improve their efforts to achieve USR integration? To answer these questions, three objectives are presented: First, to identify the preferences of Ibero-American universities initiatives to achieve social responsibility. Second, to identify the Ibero-American initiatives with a greater lag to achieve social responsibility. Third, to analyze how Ibero-American universities could improve their efforts to achieve USR integration. To answer the proposed research questions and the three objectives, a focus group methodology was applied, in which 37 Ibero-American universities from ten different countries were considered. The importance of this work is related to the variety of universities that participated adding value to the research. Findings reveal that university preferences on USR strategies are closer to university management and promotion of responsible competencies. Particularly, USR strategies are related to university self-evaluations, strategic plans implementation, and promotion of teamwork among students. The social implications of this research involve clarifying the level of progress of different USR areas, with the aim of encouraging academic authorities to increase efforts on those areas with a greater lag.

Universities’ Social Responsibility through the Lens of Strategic Planning: A Content Analysis

“…Scholars are calling for more studies investigating the implementation of SR in public entities (Dentchev et al 2018;Kansal et al 2018), especially in the university context (Larrán Jorge et al 2015;Ramos-Monge and Martí-Noguera 2021). How SR should be embedded into the core values and functions of universities' practices at every level is still difficult to understand (Wided 2020) and needs further research.…”

University social responsibility and sustainable development: illustration of adapted practices by two Tunisian Universities

“…Yet, there is an insistent tendency of exploiting SD goals as a representative tool to improve the company’s reputation or to cover-up some shortages and endorse appreciations (Nicolò et al , 2023). In this vein, private institutions are more likely to be engaged within sociocultural activities and USR approaches implementations (Nardo et al , 2021; del Mar Alonso-Almeida et al , 2015) as public ones (Ramos-Monge and Martí-Noguera, 2021; Kappo-Abidemi and Ogujiuba, 2020; Kansal et al , 2018; Dentchev et al , 2018). As well, Amani (2023) has demonstrated that USR influenced the university brand legitimacy with the mediation effect of university brand perceived ethicality in the higher education sector in Tanzania.…”