Toward a library corporate social responsibility model: An empirical study

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to develop a model for corporate social responsibility (CSR) in libraries. This study seeks to fill the gap in the literature regarding empirical studies on the factors influencing the social responsibility of public and academic libraries in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A quantitative study was conducted to examine the intention to adopt CSR in UAE libraries using the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling Path Model Assessment. The process included an assessment of the measurement model and an assessment of the structural model. An online survey was conducted using a questionnaire, and data were gathered from 237 valid responses to validate the structural model of this study. The relationships among the variables and the most influential factors were determined using Importance-Performance Matrix Analysis. The results support significant relationships between activities and events, outreach, professional ethics, employees’ relationship, health and safety, partnerships, user issues, and reporting and library corporate social responsibility (LCSR). The study found that the most important factors in LCSR are employees’ relationships and professional ethics. The proposed model can help libraries to apply social responsibility that fits the nature of libraries. The theoretical framework and methodology used in this study could be useful for researchers in the fields of CSR and library and information science.