Abstract
Increasing attention is now being paid to the concept of sustainability as a crucial element of our life at all levels. The awareness that attention must be paid not only to the present, but also and above all to the future of the society in which we live has increased attention to social and environmental issues, such as climate change and the digital revolution. This transformation has also impacted the public sector: in particular, the scientific attention in the university sector has led to the birth of the concept of University Social Responsibility (USR), which suggests that universities sustainably re-transform their work. However, this issue has so far only been the subject of a few studies. The purpose of this article is to promote greater awareness on the part of universities of the importance of addressing sustainability issues. The results of the analysis, obtained thanks to the use of a questionnaire and interviews, depict the state of the art in the adoption of social reporting practices by Italian universities and identify the main reasons and barriers to the adoption of these practices.
Highlights
The current context is drastically changing the way we live, with effects on events on a global scale as well as on our daily lives
Given the criticalities that emerged from the literature review, it was necessary to carry out an in-depth study aimed at a better understanding of the sensitivity of Universities regarding University Social Responsibility (USR) practices and the reasons and limits that hinder the development and dissemination of social reporting practices
Following the disruptive processes of change at the national and international level, the formalization of the concepts of sustainability, social responsibility and the greater pressure exerted by the subjects who interface with the organizations, it was necessary, to respond to the new needs created, to introduce “alternative” reporting tools capable of overcoming the limits of the informative nature that characterize the typical tools of traditional reporting
Summary
The current context is drastically changing the way we live, with effects on events (especially natural ones) on a global scale as well as on our daily lives. Focused on sustainability within the business world, the literature has progressively extended research to the public sector and university institutions, through the introduction of the topic of University Social Responsibility (USR) (Lee 2000; Wright 2002; Cortese 2003; Rusconi 2005; Velazquez et al 2006; Fornasa and Salomone 2007; Albrecht et al 2007; Frey 2009; Del Sordo et al 2010; Jones et al 2010; Lozano 2011; ASEAN University Network (AUN) (ASEAN University Network (AUN)) 2012; Lozano et al 2013; Romolini 2015; Bokhari 2017) This new paradigm has led universities to redefine their mission and functions, implementing a process of continuous change in which the traditional “missions” of training and research are reproposed in a sustainable and value creation perspective (Gulbrandsen and Slipersaeter 2007). In this scenario, characterized by greater complexity and dynamism, the task of the universities was to review their governance structures, performance measurement and reporting, providing an adequate response to the growing and pressing information needs of their social interlocutors, as well as to become more aware of the deeper meaning of their missions and the social/environmental impact of their actions
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