Abstract
The purpose of this study is to analyse the effects of personal demographic factors on Chinese university students’ values
and perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) issues, and to identify the link between personal values and perceptions
of CSR. The quantitative data consisted of 980 Chinese university students, and were collected by using a structured self-completion
questionnaire. This study found that: 1) the importance of values education should be stressed, because we found that altruistic
values associate negatively with perception of CSR, in contrast, egoistic values associate positively; 2) a CSR education
programme should be designed accordingly to fit different student characteristics and needs such as gender and major differences;
3) values should be used as criteria for education and recruitment purposes, e.g., we found that female students represent
more ethical values than male students, and have a more negative perception of the CSR performance; 4) the importance of environment
performance should be recognised by Chinese corporations and policy-makers, because we found that Chinese corporations perform
better in economic and social responsibilities than environmental responsibility. It provides an insight of the value structures
of Chinese university students and the forces that shape ethical perceptions. It offers a comprehensive study of Chinese companies’
CSR performance, and the results improve the awareness of scholars and managers in solving the current problems and developing
their CSR performances further.
and perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) issues, and to identify the link between personal values and perceptions
of CSR. The quantitative data consisted of 980 Chinese university students, and were collected by using a structured self-completion
questionnaire. This study found that: 1) the importance of values education should be stressed, because we found that altruistic
values associate negatively with perception of CSR, in contrast, egoistic values associate positively; 2) a CSR education
programme should be designed accordingly to fit different student characteristics and needs such as gender and major differences;
3) values should be used as criteria for education and recruitment purposes, e.g., we found that female students represent
more ethical values than male students, and have a more negative perception of the CSR performance; 4) the importance of environment
performance should be recognised by Chinese corporations and policy-makers, because we found that Chinese corporations perform
better in economic and social responsibilities than environmental responsibility. It provides an insight of the value structures
of Chinese university students and the forces that shape ethical perceptions. It offers a comprehensive study of Chinese companies’
CSR performance, and the results improve the awareness of scholars and managers in solving the current problems and developing
their CSR performances further.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Pages 1-26
- DOI 10.1007/s10805-012-9148-5
- Authors
- Lei Wang, Department of Forest Sciences, University of Helsinki, P. O. Box 27, Latokartanonkaari 7, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
- Heikki Juslin, Department of Forest Sciences, University of Helsinki, P. O. Box 27, Latokartanonkaari 7, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
- Journal Journal of Academic Ethics
- Online ISSN 1572-8544
- Print ISSN 1570-1727