Internal corporate social responsibility and university brand legitimacy: an employee perspective in the higher education sector in Tanzania

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of internal corporate social responsibility (CSR) towards university brand legitimacy (UBRL) with the mediation effect of university brand perceived ethicality in the higher education sector in Tanzania. Design/methodology/approach The study collected data from 399 employees of two universities through a cross-sectional survey research design. The data were analyzed using structural equation modelling. Findings The findings of this study suggest that internal CSR influences UBRL when mediated with university brand perceived ethicality. Research limitations/implications A cross-sectional survey research involving self-administered questionnaire was used. Therefore, the generalization of the findings should be made with caution. Practical implications Higher education institutions should invest in ethical management practices that consider internal CSR to ensure employees as legitimacy-granting constituents motivated to grant legitimacy to the university brand. Originality/value This study is among initial endeavors to examine internal CSR as a driver of UBRL in the higher education domain context.

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“…, 2019; Lee and Jackson, 2010). Furthermore, Amani (2022) and Ikram et al. (2021) argue that CSR can be utilized as a positioning strategy to portray a business firm as a responsible citizen with rights and responsibilities.…”

“…, 2021). However, existing literature indicates that the focus of CSR practices in the literature is often more centered on the firm level while neglecting the product brand level (Amani, 2022). Although social responsibility has been examined at the firm level (Dincer and Dincer, 2012), there are instances where customers' perceptions of a firm's product brands significantly differ from their perceptions of the firm's overall social responsibility (Grohmann and Bodur, 2015; He et al.…”

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