The Relationship between University Social Responsibility and Corporate Social Responsibility Concepts: The Comparison of Saudi Arabian and Turkish Cases

Abstract

The concept of university social responsibility (USR) is getting increasingly interrelated with the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) because universities are key institutions for promoting private sector businesses, creating social capital, and supporting innovations. Since USR is important in promoting economic development, any CSR program that is supported by USR, the effectiveness of CSR programs gets higher because of its support for the society and environment becomes more sustainable by making the support more ethical, resourceful, and responsible. Furthermore, the incorporation of USR into CSR will lead to more profitable companies because the brand images of these companies will be stronger. This chapter first introduces the concept of USR, and it then explains the relationships between USR and CSR by utilizing the comparative case study method. The case of Saudi Arabia revealed that there is a healthy USR-CSR cooperation in the country, promising a better future for the development in Saudi Arabia. On the other hand, the case for Türkiye depicted that the support for USR-CSR cooperation is decreasing, indicating the possibility of negative impacts on the society in the near future.