Students’ Perceptions on the University Social Responsibilities of a Malaysian Private University: Does Gender Matter?

Abstract

University social responsibility (USR) has emerged tremendously as an important area supporting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Today, universities have realized the significance of being ethical in their operations to attract various stakeholders, especially the students (customers). However, the influence of social responsibility practices in university settings remains understudied as USR is a newly emerging concept. The purpose of this study was to examine the students' perception of USR and test the gender difference in the perception of USR responsibilities in one of the private universities in Klang Valley. A survey method was employed using purposive sampling. Questionnaires were distributed and generating 400 valid responses. The data were then analyzed using a one sample t-test and an independent sample t-test through the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0. Based on the findings, ethical USR responsibilities were perceived favorably by the respondents. However, respondents did not agree with some of the items in the philanthropy USR responsibilities. In addition, the independent sample t-test results revealed no significance difference in term of gender in perceiving the ethical and philanthropy responsibilities. The study contributed to the short-form USR measure that is newly developed by testing it empirically in the Malaysian context. The university's management will also benefit from the USR initiatives, as it help shape students' favorable perception of the institution. It serves as a strategic marketing and branding tool in customer relationship management to attractive potential students and retain the current ones.

Corporate social responsibility & students’ perceptions: evidence from Indian higher education institutions

“…With regard to the study's secondary goal, which is to determine how students' demographic information affects their views on CSR, differentiation based on age, level of education, and professional experience was supported by the data in this study, which strongly indicates that students' CSR perceptions is influenced by the sociodemographic variables which is in line with the findings of (Almutawa and Hewaidy, 2020) and is in contradiction to the findings of (Anand and Singh, 2021;Burcea and Marinescu, 2011;Pätäri et al, 2017;Teixeira et al, 2018;Ugwuozor, 2020). Whereas the t-tests on gender and civil status depicted that there is no statistical relationship between these two variables and the reduced dimensions of students' impression of CSR which is in line with finding of (Almutawa and Hewaidy, 2020; Chan et al, 2021).…”

Factors Affecting Consumer Responses to Influencer Marketing Campaigns

“…After running the F-test in G*Power 3.1.9.2 software, a sample size of 92 was calculated for this research study with an effect size of 0.15, a power of 80, and 5 predictors. Thus, the sample utilized in the statistical analysis was deemed suitable, as per (Chan, et al, 2021), which included 200 valid responses. (Sekaran, 2006) suggested that a sample size ranging from 30 to 500 is deemed suitable for research in the field of social science.…”

The perceptions of master and bachelor students on the performance of private higher education institutions – an empirical study in Malaysia

“…In recent years, private HE institutions in Malaysia have transformed (Jayabalan et al, 2021). Therefore, there is a concern that Private Higher Education Institutions in Malaysia may not meet needs of the students as well as the industry (Anis et al, 2018;Chan et al, 2021). Ali et al (2016) and Khalifa et al (2021) found that HE service quality, administrative quality, core educational quality, support facilities quality, reputation and program issues ensure student satisfaction.…”

“…In recent years, private HE institutions in Malaysia have transformed (Jayabalan et al ., 2021). Therefore, there is a concern that Private Higher Education Institutions in Malaysia may not meet needs of the students as well as the industry (Anis et al ., 2018; Chan et al ., 2021). Ali et al.…”

“…Of all, 52% of the students are enrolled in public universities while 48% are enrolled in private universities (MIDA, 2021) With the massive expansion of HE institutions in Malaysia, there have been concerns about maintaining the quality of education in the universities (Anis et al ., 2018). For private universities in particular, they face numerous challenges in regards to research, accreditation, programs and curriculum (Anis et al ., 2018; Chan et al ., 2021). On university enrollment, students expect to be employed upon graduation (Nixon et al ., 2018).…”