ROLE OF ETHICAL ORIENTATION &PROACTIVE PERSONALITY IN FOSTERING CSR PERCEPTION OF MANAGEMENT STUDENTS

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the present study was to examine the role of ethical orientation and proactive personality in fostering Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) perception of management students. CSR is a philanthropic, ethical and behavioural orientation towards closing the business strategic gaps in global networking and it creates ties with the communities. CSR activities are driven mainly by the human resource development. Students are perceived as future managers of the corporate world and their perception about CSR is deemed important to business organizations. The students can make companies understand their responsibility towards various stakeholders. So, our target sample is management students who can help and understand the perception of CSR.  

Design/methodology/approach

A sample of 242 management students of a university are participated in a survey. After doing a review of literature, we selected three scales: Perceived Role of Ethics and Social Responsibility (PRESOR), Proactive Personality and Perceptions of CSR scales are used in survey. Descriptive statistics is used to test the hypotheses.

Findings

Exploratory factor analysis and content analysis suggested that CSR perceptions can be further sub-divided into independent constructs such as perceptions of Philanthropic CSR and perceptions of Ethical CSR. Findings reveal that the both PRESOR and proactive personality are positively correlated with Philanthropic CSR but only PRESOR is positively related to CSR Ethical.

Research limitations/implications

While the scope of this study is limited to management students in one organization and results may not generalize to different students in different regions. Hence, future studies should test the given hypotheses in different discipline of students. The findings suggest that management education should incorporate CSR course or projects and is a part of business management education.

Practical implications

Implications of these results for management educators and practitioners are that proper guidance and trainings are required to increase awareness for CSR activities and engage proactive students to put their values they bring to those classes. Today's students may represent a new source of corporate social responsibility. The dimensions identified in the study if incorporated by the business in its day-to-day operations can make it socially responsible as well as socially acceptable in the true sense.

Originality/value

This research makes an empirical contribution to identify the factors which management students expect business enterprises should do to be justified as socially responsible corporate citizens. Experienced and non-experienced students create a vast difference to the business world. Now students hold long term goal which is a positive syndrome for business organization.