Tom 23 (2019): Zeszyt 2 (December 2019)

It is assumed that the idea of corporate social responsibility implemented by an enterprise will be appreciated by consumers. Consumers will be more willing to choose offers and support initiatives of socially responsible companies. Social responsibility, as a distinguishing mark used in positioning an enterprise (brand), also aims to contribute to building the loyalty of consumers who will be characterised, among others, by lower price sensitivity, and in their purchasing decisions they will be guided by the company’s positive image.

The above assumptions are partly correct. According to numerous studies, consumers favour socially responsible companies. They declare positive attitudes towards such enterprises and their good practices. The problem is that consumer activity in supporting responsible companies is often limited to declarations. The fact that the costs of social responsibility, as manifested in a higher price, are mainly to be borne by consumers is not emphasised. It turns out that good practices accompanying the offer (brand) are not always an important selection criterion for the consumer.

The purpose of the article is to attempt to define determinants of an effective impact of corporate social responsibility on consumer behaviour. By an effective impact, the author understands that corporate social responsibility is an important criterion for the choice of an offer by the consumer. The article presents a review of selected studies on the impact of social responsibility on consumer behaviour. The empirical part describes a pilot study in which an attempt was made to identify the reasons for the lack of an effective impact of social responsibility on consumer behaviour. Respondents’ opinions on measures to increase the effectiveness of the impact of social responsibility on consumer behaviour were also obtained.

The article presents results and conclusions of a pilot study. This study aimed to determine the importance of distinguishing (model) characteristics for students of SRU, shaping mutual relations with students in five dimensions distinguished by the authors (values, relations, graduate, education, efficient organization) and to indicate the importance of these dimensions by students. It was found that education is the most important dimension for students, and it should be included in the social responsibility strategy implemented by the university, because it leads to the formation of a graduate desired in the modern labour market in the KBE. The features of particular dimensions identified by the authors were considered important by the respondents. They constitute a certain model to which universities can be compared, and which can be a hint as to what to look for when designing activities addressed to students as internal stakeholders of socially responsible university.

The aim of the study is to present the results of pilot study on academic staff direct participation (ASDP) in managing higher education institutions (HEI) (content, scope, intensity, practicality of impact), in key areas of its activity and its advantages and risks. The research was carried out under questionnaire survey method among academic staff of selected HEIs, in autumn 2018. It was found that ASDP applies to all areas of activity of these HEIs (content), primarily educating students; is full (academics participate in all stages of the decision-making process), has mainly operational scope (related to basic tasks in the position at work), less often strategic; it is perceived participation because the real impact of the respondents in managing HEIs is limited (passive form of participation dominates). The identified main benefits from participation indicate that ASDP can be an effective tool for creating commitment of academic staff in managing HEIs in handling their key areas of activity. The results presented are not representative (pilot study), but interesting. Therefore, the author is planning to carry out in-depth research on ASDP in managing HEI in the future.