INSIGHTS INTO THE BENEFITS OF DEVELOPING SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN THE EDUCATION SERVICES MARKET

Abstract

The paper seeks to explore the current issues that deepen the understanding of the benefits of social responsibility in higher education institutions. In particular, it is observed that interpreting social responsibility as a philosophical category or an ideological concept is limited to identifying only the boundaries of the company's responsibility for its effects on society and the environment. However, an emphasis is put that to implement a socially responsible strategy, a company should build a model to manage social responsibility and its integration into the key business processes: production, sales management, logistics, and personnel management. The hypothesis of the study is that making use of the benefits in developing social responsibility in higher education institutions will contribute to boosting their competitiveness in the educational services market. The purpose of the study is to provide insights into the benefits of developing social responsibility in higher education institutions in the educational services market. The methodological basis of the study is the neo-institutional theory which assumes concluding contracts (transactions) between counterparties based on a cycle of "negotiations, accepting and fulfilling of obligations"; an institutional paradigm as a process of interaction between the government and the society which negotiates, accepts and fulfils obligations as to organizational and financial involvement in socially responsible activities. The findings have identified cause and effect relationships that determine the terms and the degree of shaping social responsibility in higher education institutions which are of a two-fold character. It is argued that the maturity of social responsibility of the government and higher education institutions significantly enhances their competitiveness. The results of research provide evidence on the existence of certain University social responsibility patterns. However, it is noted that at the early development phase, certain volatility is observed in cause and effect relationships between social responsibility factors, causes and drivers in society as a whole and in terms of differentiated business units including higher education institutions.