An Analysis of the Driver Factors of Universities on Social Responsibility: An Approach to Achieving Fourth Generation Universities' Mission

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Department of Educational Administration, Zanjan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Zanjan, Iran

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that lead the university system to social responsibility. The research method was applied research in terms of purpose, was exploratory mix in terms of the nature and the method of data collection was survey. The statistical populations of the study in the qualitative part were the academic experts in the northwest universities of the country among whom 10 persons were selected in the process of reviewing and confirming the qualitative findings of the research. The statistical population of the quantitative section consisted of 1100 faculty members of Islamic Azad universities of northwest of country, 259 of whom were selected by stratified random sampling. Data collection tools were texts, documents and questionnaires. The validity and reliability of the qualitative section were confirmed by experts and the construct validity and convergence of the questionnaire were confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis. Cronbach's alpha and combined reliability were used to estimate the reliability of the questionnaire. Qualitative content analysis technique was used to analyze the data in qualitative section and confirmatory factor analysis was used in quantitative section. The findings of qualitative and quantitative analysis led to the identification 37 indicators and 5 factors that organizational, cultural, economic, political, and social factors were identified as factors affecting the social responsibility of the academic system, respectively.

Keywords


  1. Abbasi, M. (2015). Comparative Analysis and Prioritization of Dimensions and Indicators of Corporate Social Responsibility from the Viewpoints of Small and Medium-Sized Corporate Managers (Study of Co-operatives and Private Companies Based in Shiraz Big Industrial Estate). Master Thesis in Entrepreneurship Management, Department of new Business, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman. [in Persian]
  2. Abbaspour, A., Shakeri, M., Rahimian, H., & Farasatkhah, M. (2015). Qualitative Study of Accountability Strategies of Public Universities from the Viewpoint of Higher Education Experts Accountability Strategies of Public Universities. Research on Educational Leadership and Management, 1(3), 1-27. [in Persian]
  3. afkaneh, S., jafari, P., sharifi, H., & ghorchian, N. (2018). Developing an appropriate model for service-oriented universities and higher education institutions. Journal of New Approaches in Educational Administration, 9(33), 127-152. [in Persian]
  4. Ali Mohammadlu, M., Akbari, B., & Mahdavianpour, E. (2014). Identifying Social Responsibility in Universities (USR) Using Fuzzy Delphi. Case study: Shiraz University. Journal of Iranian Higher Education, 6(3), 161-192. [in Persian]
  5. Alipoor, A., & Enayati, T. (2017). Fourth Generation Universities Research Commercialization. Interdisciplinary Studies on Strategic Knowledge, 7(26), 53-76. [in Persian]
  6. Amir Moghaddam, E., Bekzadeh, J., & Asadi Shirin, G. (2014). Identify and prioritize factors that affect accountability. International Conference on Management, Challenges and Solutions, Shiraz. [in Persian]
  7. Atakan, M., & Eker, T. (2007). Corporate identity of a socially responsible University, a Case from the turkish higher education sector, Journal of Business Ethics, 76(1), 55-68.
  8. Baharvand, I. (2017). Explore the concept of social accountability of universities, identify the barriers to it, and design and validate a measure to measure it. Doctoral dissertation on Educational Management, University of Urmia, University Campus. [in Persian]
  9. Barzegar, G. (2014). Providing a model for disclosing corporate social responsibility and its relationship to financial performance. Doctoral Dissertation in Accounting, Allameh Tabataba'i University. [in Persian]
  10. Barzegar, N., ghorchian, N., Taghipur zahir, A. (2019). Pathology of Innovation Capabilities creation in Iranian University Management (Case: Islamic Azad University). Journal of New Approaches in Educational Administration, 10(37), 291-310. [in Persian]
  11. Bok, Derek. (2018) Beyond the Ivory Tower: Social Responsibilities of the Modern University, translated by Armin Amir; Ali Papelizadi and Maryam Alamzadeh, Publications Office for Cultural and Social Policy and Planning. [in Persian]
  12. Brown, E., & Cloke, J. (2009). Corporate social responsibility in higher education: An International E-Journal for Critical Geographies, 8(3), 474-483.
  13. Carroll, A. B., (1999). Corporate Social Responsibility: Evolution Of A Definitional Construct, Business Society. 38(3), 268-295.
  14. Chen, S-H., Nasongkhla, J., Donaldson, J. A. (2015). University Social Responsibility (USR): Identifying an Ethical Foundation within Higher Education Institutions. Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, 14(4), 165-172.
  15. Claudia, L.R., Sofia, C., Lucia, R., & Adriana, B. (2014). Learning organization and social responsibility in Romanian higher Education Institutions, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences,142, 146-153.
  16. Creswell, J. W. (2003). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. (2nd ed.), Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
  17. Cronje, E. M. (2015). The effects of volunteering on student volunteers. Progressio: South African Journal for Open and Distance Learning Practice, 37(2), 1–20.
  18. Dahan, G. S., & Senol, I. (2012). Corporate Social Responsibility in Higher Education Institutions: Istanbul Bilgi University Case, American International Journal of Contemporary Research, 2(3), 95-103.
  19. Darwish, H., & Ramezani, F, H. (2019). Accountability and Accountability. University of Judicial Sciences and Administrative Services Publications. [in Persian]
  20. , A. M., Vasilache. S., Ghinea., V., Agoston., S., & Armin., A. (2013). A Model of Academic Social Responsibility, Transylvanian Review of Administrative Science, 38, 23-43.
  21. Giuffre, L., & Ratto, S. E. (2014). A new paradigm in higher education: University Social Responsibility (USR). Journal of Education & Human Development, 3(1), 231-238.
  22. Gomez, C. L. V., & Girotto, M. (2015). Strategic Management in Universities: A Conceptual Framework Based on Ibero-American Higher Education Systems. In Strategic Management of Universities in the Ibero-America Region (pp. 1-43). Springer, Cham.
  23. Gourova, E., Todorova, Y., & Gourov, N., (2009). “Skills for Future Engineers: Challenges for Universities in Bulgaria”, WSEAS Transactions on Business and Economics, 6(7), 385-399.
  24. Grau, F. X., Goddard, J., Hall, B., Hazelkorn, E., & Tandon, R. (2017). Higher Education in the World 6: Towards a socially responsible university: Balancing the global with the local. Girona: Global University Network for Innovation. Recuperado de https://goo. gl/bk2Tsk.
  25. Goudarzvand chegini, M. (2018). The fourth generation university labor; and action approach (case studies: Cambridge, Stanford, and Harvard universities. Iranian Journal of Engineering Education, 20(78), 1-16. [in Persian]
  26. Habibi, N., Vazifehdust, H., & Jafari, P. (2016). Upgrading Islamic Azad University social accountability factors. Quarterly Journal of Research and Planning in Higher Education, 22 (2), 125-145. [in Persian]
  27. Harkavy, I. (2006). The role of universities in advancing citizenship and social justice in the 21st century. Education, Citizenship and Social Justice, 1(1), 5-37.
  28. Heydari, A. (2015). Analysis of Large-Scale Education Programs Based on Theory of Social Responsibility, M.A Thesis, Al-Zahra University. [in Persian]
  29. Hudson, E., (2013). Educating for Community Change: Higher Education’s Proposed Role in Community transformation through the federal promise neighborhood policy. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 17( 3), 109-138.
  30. (2018). Iran Higher Education Statistics at a Glance. https://irphe.ac.ir/content/1534.
  31. Iranzadeh, S., & Shariat, M, A. (2013). A Model for Assessing Social Responsibility and Identifying Organizational Factors Affecting Corporate Social Responsibility, 2th International Conference on Management, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development, Qom, Payame Noor University. [in Persian]
  32. (2018). Iranian Universities According to Statistics. Retrieval date: 2018/5/30. https://www.isna.ir/news/97030804268.
  33. Jabbour, CJC. (2010). Greening of business schools: A systemic view. Int. J. Sustainability Higher Education, 11(1), 49-60.
  34. Jara, M. L. (2007). The socially responsible University: a way of being, Global University Network for Innovation newsletter, 27(14).
  35. Karima, R., Oshima, Y., & Yamamoto, K. (2006). Identification of subjects for social responsibility education at universities and the present activity at the University of Tokyo. Environmental Sciences, 13(6), 327-337.
  36. Kazempour, M., Rahimian, N. (2019). Corporate social responsibility: Concepts, Dimensions, Theories and Review of models. Journal of Accounting Research, 8(4), 143-165. doi: 10.22051/ijar.2017.13942.1263. [in Persian]
  37. Kumari Tabrizi, Z. (2016). The Relationship between Academic Independence and Total Quality Management with Social Responsibility in Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. M.A Thesis, Shahid Madani University of Azerbaijan. [in Persian]
  38. Laursen, SA., Thiry, H., Liston, CS. (2012). The impact of a university-based school science outreach program on graduate student participants’ career paths and professional socialization. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 16(2), 47–78.
  39. Ledic, J., Culum, B., Nuzdic, S., Jancec, L. (2008). “What role do Croatian higher institution play? A study on university civic mission”. Proceedings of the 4th international Barcelona conference on higher education, vol. 8. Higher education and citizenship, participation and democracy. Barcelona: Guni. available at http://www.guni-rmies.net.
  40. Mok, K. (2005). Fostering entrepreneurship: Changing role of government and higher education governance in Hong Kong. Research Policy, 34(4), 537-54.
  41. Moshabaki, A., Kh.Shojaei, V. (2011). Investigating the Relationship between Organization Culture and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) (Case Study: Energy Ministry). Journal of Applied Sociology, 21(4), 37-56. [in Persian]
  42. Mozaffari, G. (2011). Design and validitation of university accountability model for stakeholders. Doctoral dissertation, Shahid Beheshti University. [in Persian]
  43. Nagy, J., & Robb, A. (2008). Can universities be good corporate citizens? Critical Perspectives on Accounting, Elsevier, 19(8), 1414-1430.
  44. Nejati, M., Shafaei, A., Salamzadeh, Y., & Daraei, M. (2011). Corporate social responsibility and universities: A study of top 10 world universities’ website. African Journal of Business Management, 5(2), 440-447.
  45. Noroozi, M, R., Danaeifard, H., Fani, A, A., & Hassanzadeh, A. (2014). Theoretical Processing of Social Responsibility Based on Data Theory. Journal of Management Improvement, 8(26), 5-34. [in Persian]
  46. Ostrander, S. A. (2004). Democracy, civic participation and the university: A comparative study of Civic engagement on five campuses, Nonprofit and voluntary sector quarterly, 33(1), 74-93. org/10.1177/0899764003260588.
  47. Palalic, R., Ramadani, V., Dilovic, A., Dizdarevic, A., & Ratten, V. (2017). Entrepreneurial intentions of university students: a case-based study. Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, 11(3), 393–413.
  48. Pardakhtchi, M, H., Bazargan, A., Arasteh, H., & Mozafari, G. (2012). Academic Society's Perceptions on University External Accountability Gap. Quarterly Journal of Research and Planning in Higher Education. 18(1), 91-112. URL: http://journal.irphe.ac.ir/article-1-1507-en.html. [in Persian]
  49. Ramos-Monge, E., Llinàs Audet, F. J., & Barrena Martínez, J. (2019). Drivers and barriers of University Social Responsibility: integration into strategic plans. World review of entrepreneurship, management and sustainable development. URI:http://hdl.handle.net/2117/114981.
  50. Ratten, V. (2017). Entrepreneurial universities: the role of communities, people and places. Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, 11(3), 310–315.
  51. M. (2008). University Social Responsibility definitions. Cited and retrieved from http://www.usralliance.org/resources/Aurilla_Presentation_Session6.
  52. Salehi Omran, I., Sabet, A, H., & Hassanzadeh Barani Kord, S. (2013). Investigating the Importance of Corporate Social Responsibility Indicators in Industrial Centers and Universities. Journal of Iranian Higher Education, 4(2), 1-35. [in Persian]
  53. Shafaei, Y., T; Abili, K; & Faramarz, K., A. (2017). Studying the Current Status of University Social Responsibility Based on the Wallace Model Based on Faculty Members' Viewpoints (Case Study: University of Tehran). Journal of Iranian Higher Education, 8(4), 101-79. [in Persian]
  54. Shafei, R., & Azizi, N. (2014). A Study of Organizational Social Responsibility Status in Higher Education Universities and Centers in the West of Iran (Designing an Evaluation Model). Journal of Organizational Behavior in Education, 1(2), 22-5. [in Persian]
  55. Shakeri Hossein Abad, M. (2015). Designing an effective accountability model in public universities (mixed approach). Doctoral dissertation, Allameh Tabataba'i University. [in Persian]
  56. Soltanzadeh, V., Ghalavandi, H., Seyed Abbaszadeh, M. (2015). Simple and Combinational Relationship between Organizational Socialization and Social Responsibility (A case study of staff in Urmia University). Journal of New Approaches in Educational Administration, 6(21), 167-190. [in Persian]
  57. Tabarsa, G., Rezaian, A., Azar, A., & Alikhani, H. (2012). Explanation and Designing a Model of Social Responsibility. Journal of Strategic Management Studies, 2(8), 83-102. [in Persian]
  58. Taghi Zadeh, H., Zeyaei, M. (2018). Development Roadmap of Educational Processes in Higher Education Systems (Case Study). Journal of New Approaches in Educational Administration, 9(33), 1-24. [in Persian]
  59. Tetrevova, L., & Sabolova, V. (2010). University stakeholder management and university social responsibility. WSEAS Transactions on Advances in Engineering Education, 7(7), 224–233.
  60. Thompson M. S., Head, R., Rikard, R. V., McNeil, C., & White, C. (2012). University-community partnerships: Bridging people and cultures in an HIV/AIDS health intervention in an African American community. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 16(2), 79–105.
  61. Tian, Q., Liu, Y., & Fan, J. (2015). The effects of external stakeholder pressure and ethical leadership on corporate social responsibility in China. Journal of Management & Organization, 21(4), 388-410.
  62. Torabi Mohsen Abad, B. (2018). Prioritizing the Factors Affecting Social Responsibility in Financial Companies Using the ISM Technique. M.A thesis, Institute of Higher Education North Strategy. [in Persian]
  63. (2009). The new dynamics of Higher Education and Research, for societal change and development, in: communique World Conference on higher education, Paris 5-8 July.
  64. Vallaeys, F., Cruz, C., & Sasia, P. M. (2011). University Social Responsibility. McGraw-Hill, Interamericana. ISBN: 978-1-59782-0.
  65. Vasilescu, R., Barnab, C., Epurec M., & Baicud, C. (2010) Developing university social responsibility: A model for the challenges of the new civil society. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2(2), 4177–4182.
  66. Vazquez, J. L.,. Aza, L., & Lanero, A. (2016). Citizens’ perceptions on social responsibility in public administration organizations: A case study on Spain. Transylvanian Review of Administrative Sciences, 12(48), 166-183.

Williams, C. C., Martinez–Perez, A., & Kedir, A. M. (2017). Informal Entrepreneurship in Developing Economies: The Impacts of Starting up Unregistered on firm Performance. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 41(5), 773–799.