Re-envisioning corporate social responsibility education from a multicultural perspective: From pyramid to hourglass

Abstract

While contemporary capitalist society is stimulating corporate social responsibility (CSR) and related themes such as sustainability, with the UN SDGs and ESG as dominant narratives, educators have voiced concerns about the actual issue of how to integrate these emerging phenomena into management education. This study adopted a sequential explanatory design using responses collected from international business school students in Asia over a 6-year period to examine this gap. Their perceptions were analyzed by matching them against Carroll's four-part definitional framework, the pyramid of CSR, to gauge the degree to which CSR theories are received by students. The results revealed that the majority of Asian students understand CSR differently from the mantra “CSR is about responsible business”. Depending on the context, Carroll's CSR pyramid is negatively perceived by students in Asia as many are aware that CSR is a culturally hypersensitive subject. The study proposes three recommendations for developing inclusive CSR education in multicultural settings: 1) emphasizing the “changing” role of business in the world and contemporary capitalism; 2) emphasizing the necessity of blending Western CSR theories with sustainable development issues in other nations; and 3) adding more details about cultural sensitivity in our use of CSR. • Many Asian students understand CSR differently from the mantra “CSR is about responsible business.”. • Depending on the context, Carroll's CSR pyramid is negatively perceived by students in Asia. • Instead, a so-called hourglass framework of CSR in Asia is detected. • CSR education should be more inclusive by emphasizing the “changing” role of business in the world and capitalism. • CSR pedagogy should highlight the cultural sensitivity of various CSR notions.

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