Does the Use of Social Media Tools in Classrooms Increase Student Commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility?

Abstract

There is an increasing demand for ethical and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices by companies. This competence has to be introduced in students’ training in business degree programs, and a check must then be done to determine if the students have come to appreciate the importance of CSR commitments. Using the framework of Stakeholders Theory, this work aims to examine students’ perceptions of ethical and CSR practices and commitment to different stakeholders, as well as the factors that lead students to act in a socially responsible way. Furthermore, we hope to identify how the perception of CSR can be improved when Web 2.0 and social media tools that have proven effective in transmitting emotions and values are used in classrooms to teach these ideas. To this end, a survey was carried out in the year 2019 with 1,030 first-year students; it was administered at the beginning of the semester and also at the end of the semester after the training activities had been carried out. The main finding of the research is that students start with the belief that ethics and CSR are developed for reasons of image and legitimacy; however, after receiving training on these topics through tools that take into account emotions and values, they start to value the importance of the company as an agent of social change. The main practical and managerial implication is that methods based on Web 2.0 and social media tools are useful to teach ethics and CSR; the theoretical contribution is that students take into account the welfare of others. This finding contributes to Stakeholder Theory in a higher education context.

Student commitment to social responsibility: Systematic literature review, conceptual model, and instrument

“…Therefore, it is essential that universities develop student commitment to SR throughout the curriculum. These efforts merit the incorporation of ethical, social, and environmental aspects in the study plans to promote students' sensitivity, reflections, conceptualizations, and behaviors that satisfy organizations and their stakeholders (Holland, 2004;Rodríguez-Gómez, Garde-Sánchez, Arco-Castro & López-Pérez, 2020). This mission becomes even more relevant when considering that university students' attitudes represent a reasonable indicator of their academic and professional performance (Larrán, Andrades & Herrera, 2018).…”

Features of responsibility of future specialists of the socionomic professions as an indicator of their digital competence

“…In particular, decision-making in the process of information retrieval requires an appropriate level of formation in the personality of the future specialist of socionomic disciplines of responsibility, which will allow ensuring the regulation of activities based on ethical norms and principles [65, p. 36]. Higher educational institutions should provide the necessary skills and knowledge to determine the social, ethical and environmental impacts of entrepreneurship [9], moreover, integrate ethical and social responsibility aspects in curriculum design [51,79,96].…”

Percepción sobre la responsabilidad social corporativa de los estudiantes de educación superior de Chile

“…Lo antes señalado, puede ser investigado a través de la propuesta de Carroll (1991), que revela el funcionamiento de las empresas desde la perceptiva de los estudiantes universitarios (Mazur y Walczyna, 2021). Lo que, además, debería justiciar la importancia de la enseñanza de la ética empresarial y la RSC (Rodríguez-Gómez et al, 2020). En este contexto, las aplicaciones teóricas y prácticas de la RSC pueden ayudar a gerentes, administradores y operarios a reducir las eventuales incongruencias en los negocios e, incentivarlos a hacer lo correcto y/o adecuado, contribuyendo al desarrollo y progreso de las organizaciones y, la comunidad en general, buscado siempre soluciones armónicas y equitativas para con la sociedad en general y, el medioambiente natural.…”