Online disclosure of university social responsibility: a comparative study of public and private US universities

• Published in: Environmental education research Vol. 19; no. 6; pp. 709 - 746
• Main Authors: Garde Sanchez, Raquel, Rodriguez Bolivar, Manuel Pedro, Lopez-Hernandez, Antonio M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 01.12.2013; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Accountability; College Role; Colleges & universities; Comparative Analysis; Comparative studies; Conservation (Environment); corporate social responsibility; Disclosure; Expectations; Information Dissemination; Internet; Mann Whitney U Test; online disclosure of information; Private Colleges; Public Colleges; School Responsibility; Social Responsibility; Stakeholders; Sustainability; universities; United States > US; USA
• ISSN: 1350-4622; 1469-5871
• DOI: 10.1080/13504622.2012.749976

Public and private universities tasked with incorporating principles of social responsibility (SR) into their activities face the multiple challenges of addressing expectations of diverse stakeholders, establishing mechanisms for dialogue, and achieving greater information transparency. This article has two goals: first, to analyze whether SR has become an essential element in activities associated with university accountability, information transparency, and the use of the Internet; second, to analyze whether SR is used by universities as a differentiating factor in relation to their status. A comparative study of public and private US universities shows that neither is strongly committed to the online disclosure of SR information, including in relation to sustainability-related activities. Moreover, there is a uniformity in the accountability activities of both university types, suggesting that the challenges are not being faced, and SR is not being used as a differentiating factor in the pursuit of positional or competitive advantage.