Differences in Corporate Social Responsibility Sensitivity Between Business and STEM Students
Keywords:
Buisness Ethics, Corporate Social Responsiblity, Higher Education, Mexico, STEMAbstract
Purpose: The prominence of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) within the international business environment has permeated higher education wherein it has been incorporated alongside the study of business ethics in curricula across many majors. This study is unique in the literature of CSR education in that it sought to determine if CSR sensitivity differed between undergraduate business majors and undergraduates majoring in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Research Design: A Mexican university was analyzed using demographic and attitudinal variables in a self-administered survey. The results indicated that students with STEM majors showed a higher CSR sensitivity than business majors – a unique finding in CSR literature. Findings: In general, female students had a higher sensitivity to CSR than male students. Students, regardless of their major, with little or no work experience expressed a higher sensitivity to CSR. Finally, year of study was significant in that seniors expressed a higher sensitivity than freshmen.
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