The Effect of a Business and Society Course on Business Student Attitudes Toward Corporate Social Responsibility

Abstract

The authors investigated the impact of an undergraduate business and society course on students’ attitudes about the importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) at a highly diverse, urban, Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business–accredited U.S. university. Students were surveyed for their attitudes about key areas of business and CSR. Findings indicated that students who had completed the course were less likely to believe that a company's primary responsibility was to maximize shareholder value, and were more likely to believe that creating value for the local community was a company's primary responsibility. However, the authors found there were no significant differences for some other CSR attitudes investigated.