Article Analysis
Select two peer-reviewed articles from the GU library on the topics for the current week. Analyze the articles separately and correlate them to your personal ethics assessment results. You are encouraged to share some specific examples of your assessment results to support your opinion. However, if you would like to keep your results private, you can speak to your results in general terms.
Write a 1-2 page summary on your analysis of the article #1 to your assessment results and how you believe this content has increased your ethical self-awareness. Please discuss these points from: alternatives, analysis, application, and action.
Write a 1-2 page summary on your analysis of the article #2 to your assessment results and how you believe this content has increased your ethical self-awareness. Please discuss these points from: alternatives, analysis, application, and action.
Received: 30 August 2018
| Revised: 2 June 2020 | Accepted: 9 June 2020
DOI: 10.1111/beer.12306
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Students’ perception of corporate social responsibility:
Analyzing the influence of gender, academic status, and
exposure to business ethics education
Felix Okechukwu Ugwuozor
Department of Educational Foundations,
Faculty of Education, University of Nigeria,
Nsukka, Nigeria
Correspondence
Felix Okechukwu Ugwuozor, Department
of Educational Foundations, Faculty of
Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka
PMB 41001, Nigeria.
Email: Fugwuozo@yahoo.com
Abstract
Studies on students’ perception of corporate social responsibility (CSR) have been
growing in western scholarship. For students in African countries, such as Nigeria,
there is little that is known about how and whether gender, level of study, and being
enrolled in business education courses impact their perception of and disposition
towards CSR. This study explores the significance of gender, academic status or level
of study, and exposure to business ethics education (BEE) on Nigerian students’ perception of CSR as a veritable business ethic. Specifically, the effects of these factors
on students’ perception of CSR are examined using analysis of variance. The results
show a significant effect of exposure to BEE and gender on CSR-sensitivity, and a
mild, but significant effect of academic status. This implies that male students and
female students had different perspectives on CSR issues. Students who took ethics
courses and those who did not would run businesses differently. However, age and
experience on campus did not influence students’ perception or position on CSR. The
study recommends that more behavioral models be estimated with the inclusion of
more demographic and socioeconomic variables to elicit more robust results.
1 | I NTRO D U C TI O N
The ease of doing business is arguably the most significant
difference between developing and developed countries. Policies,
In this study, we identify some factors responsible for students’
processes, and procedures for starting and running businesses are
perception of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in a developing
by far more efficient, secure, and supportive of entrepreneurs in
country setting. We test whether gender, academic status (level of
the latter than in the former. As students in Africa observe and
study), and taking business ethics courses influences these percep-
thereby experience the complexity and challenges facing busi-
tions. Students in less developed countries (LDCs) often are not
ness effectiveness and performance in developing countries, they
familiar with the concept of CSR despite its potential to shape and
are unlikely to be CSR-sensitive. Many students in sub-Saharan
sharpen their disposition to fairness and social justice, especially
African settings such as Nigeria seek education primarily to eman-
in the workplace, either as employees or managers of businesses
cipate from poverty, that is, to lead a more prosperous life and
(Amaeshi, Adi, Ogbechie, & Amao, 2006; Kolodinsky, Madden,
secure a more sustainable future. Thus, they seek gainful em-
Zisk, & Henkel, 2010). However, studies show that CSR enables
ployment after leaving school, further implicating the possibility
businesses to function maximally, stimulates favorable policies for
that their primary motivation is survival. Job-seeking graduates in
businesses to thrive, and fulfills the duty businesses have to society
Nigeria are first likely to seek secure jobs in the civil services or in
with respect to social good (Kilcullen & Kooistra, 1999; Kolodinsky
high-paying private sectors or with multinational companies, for
et al., 2010; Rupp, Wright, Aryee, & Luo, 2015). Conversely, favor-
example, Shell, Chevron, MTN, Coca Cola, and others. The CSR
able policies will tend to stimulate businesses to give back to the
disposition of these graduate employees will, therefore, depend
society via CSR.
on the CSR behavior of their employers. Conversely, students
Business Ethics: A Eur Rev. 2020;29:737–747.
wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/beer
© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
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who become self-employed or run private businesses right after
They collect multiple levies from businesses, and do not remit
school may be motivated, in the short-term, by profit for the sur-
them to the government account.
vival of their businesses. For the latter, CSR becomes a long-term
Since businesses are vulnerable to the vagaries and inefficien-
priority—when their businesses break even and are thriving. This
cies in the public sector, there is little incentive for SMEs to engage
means that motivation for CSR in the long-term would be an after-
in CSR-related activities. Thus, corruption in the public and private
thought. Moreover, it is noteworthy that graduates who resort to
sector shows loss or lack of common good ethics in a society. In
starting their businesses with little capital will become players in
addition, since students are nurtured in this kind of negative moral
the informal sector.1 There are little indications or evidence of CSR
climate and many will be employed by the SMEs, what is likely to be
disposition of firms in this sector.
their CSR disposition as business leaders? Therefore, this study con-
Such a precarious background presents a gloomy outlook for
tributes to students-CSR literature by assessing the current business
CSR in a country like Nigeria where these students, with little to
mentality and CSR disposition of Nigerian students, given the politi-
no exposure to CSR best practices and culture, become employers
cal and socioeconomic climate they find themselves in.
and employees in the future. What is unclear, however, is these
Second, the study contributes to students-CSR literature by
students’ perception of CSR and their disposition toward contrib-
testing the effect of academic status—class or level of study—
uting to a positive CSR culture in their future business environ-
on their CSR disposition. Related variables that have been used
ment. Their current disposition to CSR may well depend on their
in previous studies are age and work experience (Tormo-Carbó,
exposure to business ethics courses, a proxy for experience of and
Oltra, Klimkiewicz, & Seguí-Mas, 2019; Tormo-Carbó, Seguí-Mas,
exposure to CSR, and other socioeconomic variables such as gen-
& Oltra, 2018). In this study, age is considered not to be very stu-
der and academic status.
dent-related in the sense that older students may be found in lower
Literature on the CSR disposition of students is growing. Factors
levels of study and vice versa. Therefore, age may not account for
that motivate their disposition include age (Teixeira, Ferreira,
the life experience on campus and how it influences their perception
Correia, & Lima, 2018), gender (Eweje & Brunton, 2010), academic
of CSR. Thus, the number of years students have spent on campus is
department (Larrán, Andrades, & Herrera, 2018), countries of origin
a good variable to assess the extent their campus experience influ-
(González-Rodríguez, Díaz-Fernández, Pawlak, & Simonetti, 2013),
enced their ethical disposition. Academic status is a measure to as-
and even religion or spirituality (Fitzpatrick & Cheng, 2014).
sess for differences between CSR perception of undergraduate and
However, there is little literature on CSR and students from Africa.
postgraduate students. Since results show mild difference in percep-
Few related studies for Africa have been Gorondutse and Hilman
tion among students in different academic levels of study, it suggests
(2012) who examine students’ perception to business CSR in terms
that campus experience or life on campus are essentially similar and
of profitability of the firm, and more recently, Ugwuozor and Otu
do not influence students’ ethical disposition significantly.
(2019) who examine the link between business ethics courses (BEC)
and students’ perception of CSR.
This study, therefore, contributes to literature on students’
Third, the study allows for a potential reexamination and review
of ethics teaching and training in tertiary schools by raising the following questions, which are implicative for future research:
CSR literature in the following ways. First, the study examines
students’ disposition to CSR from a developing country setting,
• Given the different ethical dispositions of developed and de-
in this regard, Nigeria. Nigeria sets a good context for investigat-
veloping countries, with the latter being worse, should African
ing students’ perception of CSR because of its infamous reputa-
schools continue to adapt or adopt the ethics (CSR) curricula of
tion for corruption. 2 The country’s polity is characterized by acts
the western countries?
of nepotism, which often divides the citizenry along the lines of
• How disposed are African schools to evolve their own curricula
tribe, region, and religion (Akindola & Ehinomen, 2017; Carnegie
and include in them the knowledge of how students—the future
Endowment, 2019). Public officials often demand bribes from
business leaders—are to hold government officers and business
businesses and individuals who need the services or the protec-
leaders accountable for engaging in practices that do not promote
tion of government institutions (UNODC, 2019). Malfeasance and
or propagate common good ethics?
sleaze committed by politicians, policy makers, and public officers
• Will the current ethics curriculum in African schools remain a
do not create an environment for ethically minded businesses to
mere set of instructions and a prerequisite to moving to the next
operate successfully. Meanwhile, businesses may be constrained
level of study rather than a set of guidelines that are adopted for
3
to playing along with the public officials, and hence, compromise
changes in Ethical disposition?
on their ethical values (Carnegie Endowment, 2019). Thus, the
ethical disposition of many businesses, especially the Small and
In effect, this study is likely to herald new perspectives and dis-
Medium-scale Enterprises (SMEs), depends on the integrity of
course on students’ ethics by reassessing African students’ disposition
public officials and law enforcement agents. However, most SMEs
to CSR, given the culture and climate of weak and inefficient institu-
operate in the informal sector where there are little or no regula-
tions, poor governance, and infrastructure deficit and decay they cur-
tions that guide the establishment of successful businesses (Bank
rently experience and are getting used to. These experiences may not
of Industry, 2018). The informal sector in Nigeria is run by thugs.
hold any promise in promoting business ethics culture in future.
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UGWUOZOR
The rest of this study is organized as follows. Section 2 reviews
some related literature, with each subsection culminating in hy-
Scheidler, and Wieseke (2019)). See Table 1 for summary of selected
factors responsible for students’ CSR perception.
potheses that test students’ characteristics and disposition to CSR.
As implied earlier, there are few studies focusing on Africa and how
Section 3 describes the methodology—the ethical considerations,
businesses often operate within less-than efficient institutional and
population and sampling, and methods of data analyses. Section 4
legal frameworks, and where students’ exposure to BEE and their in-
presents the results of the study. Section 5 discusses the findings of
creased likelihood to become CSR-sensitive are explored. Among such
the results and their implications. In Section 6, concluding remarks
studies are Amaeshi et al. (2006), Gorondutse and Hilman (2012), Adda
are made with suggestions for future studies.
et al., (2016) and, very recently, Ugwuozor and Otu (2019). Students in
LDCs may be less CSR-sensitive because most of them will eventually
2 | LITE R AT U R E R E V I E W A N D
H Y P OTH E S E S D E V E LO PM E NT
As indicated earlier, considerable literature exists on students’
perception of CSR, especially in non-African settings. Some schol-
be employed in the informal sector (e.g., self-employment), which provides up to 80% employment (World Bank, 2016).
2.1 | Corporate social responsibility and exposure
to business ethics courses
ars have assessed students’ perception of CSR in general (Adda,
Azigwe, & Awuni, 2016; Chan & Leung, 2006; Chang & Cheng, 2017;
Taking BECs is the most visible, deliberate option for learning business
Fitzpatrick & Cheng, 2014). Some other studies compare students’
ethics. It is the most direct approach to instilling CSR values in students
perception given differences in variables; for instance, comparing
(Tormo-Carbó, Oltra, Seguí-Mas, & Klimkiewicz, 2016; Ugwuozor &
students’ CSR-sensitivity between departments (Larrán et al., 2018)
Otu, 2019). Earlier studies from Murphy and Boatright (1994) find that
and between countries (Fitzpatrick & Cheng, 2014; González-
students who took business ethics courses ranked ethical issues differ-
Rodríguez et al., 2013). Most of the studies paid attention to devel-
ently than those who simply had taken a course in which business eth-
oped countries.
ics was only one of the components. Luthar and Karri (2005) find that
Larrán et al. (2018) observe that students who majored in ac-
exposure to ethics in the curriculum has a significant impact on student
counting and business had more biases for well-run companies and
perceptions of CSR. However, Tormo-Carbó et al. (2018) demonstrate
will either work in one or create one—especially in terms of CSR.
the interaction effects of taking business ethics courses and other vari-
Fitzpatrick and Cheng (2014) find that students in Hong Kong, de-
ables like age, gender, and academic degree. They find mixed results.
spite being more exposed to BECs and BEE than their U.S. counter-
For example, taking business courses influences some students, for
parts, were less likely to engage in CSR. They also identify spirituality
instance, in management more than those in accounting. In addition,
as a factor that motivated students’ CSR disposition and find that
females are influenced more than males.
it influenced the CSR-sensitivity of students in the United States.
Tanner and Cudd (1999), however, indicate that exposure to
Nonetheless, students in Hong Kong show less proclivity toward
ethics classes is often short lived. Therefore, exposure to BECs
CSR than students in the United States.
may hold little significance. In addition, Tormo-Carbó et al. (2016)
Ethical disposition of students and their CSR-sensitivity is multifac-
find that among Polish students, those who were not exposed to
eted. It depends on the nature of the curriculum and how it is taught.
ethics show more ethical awareness and are more likely to invest
Mitroff (2004) argues that business schools should be integrating eth-
in CSR. For students in African countries such as Nigeria, there is
ics across the curriculum as well as having stand-alone courses on the
little information on what is the effect of taking BECs on students’
subject to ensure that business students will be socially responsible
CSR disposition. This is the gap that this study intends to fill. A few
and ethically sensitive managers. Giacalone and Thompson (2006), and
related studies link students’ perception to their exposure to BEE
Setó-Pamies and Papaoikonomou (2016) also agree with this position.
(Gomes & Graça, 2019; McCarthy, Miller, Cockrell, & Meyer, 2016;
They add that the current realities, and perhaps students’ background,
Ugwuozor & Otu, 2019). This study tests the following hypothesis
should be considered in teaching ethics. For instance, climate change
and compares students who took business ethics course and those
realities in some developing countries like Colombia, have caused
who did not:
undergraduate students to be environment conscious. Hence, they
are motivated to buy environmentally friendly products (Castano,
Perdomo-Ortiz, Duenas Ocampo, & Duran-Leon, 2016). Moreover, in
Hypothesis 1 Exposure to BECs does not influence students’ perception of corporate social responsibility.
some developed countries in Europe, studies have gone beyond students’ perception of CSR to investigate strategic roles students play
in promoting CSR in the business world (see Diaz-Carrion, LópezFernández, & Romero-Fernandez, 2017). Consequently, students are a
2.2 | Academic status and students’
perception of CSR
significant group of stakeholders in advancing the cause of CSR. They
are often consulted on issues and experiments that further stake-
Age is expected to reflect wisdom and understanding. Therefore, it
holders’ democracy through CSR (see Edinger-Schons, Lengler-Graiff,
could be a proxy measure for academic status. That is, older people
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TA B L E 1
Factors responsible for students’ CSR perception across the world
Study area or
location
#
Source (Author)
Factors responsible for perception of CSR
Category of students
1
Chan and Leung (2006)
“internal” or intrinsic factors and “external”
or extrinsic factors
Accounting versus Management
students
Hong Kong
2
Tormo-Carbó et al. (2018)
Business ethics courses
University students sorted
according to their decisionmaking skills
Spain
3
Gomes and Graça (2019)
economic, environmental, employees, and
community factors
Undergraduate students across
the university
Portugal
4
McCarthy et al. (2016)
Various moderations of ethics curriculum
Business students
United States
5
Gorondutse and Hilman
(2012)
Profitability and social justice either in the
long- or short-term
Business students
Nigeria
6
González-Rodríguez
et al. (2013)
Nationality, gender, and value orientations
Business students
Spain, Poland, and
Bulgaria
7
Gligor-Cimpoieru,
Munteanu, Nitu-Antonie,
Schneider, and Preda
(2017)
CSR education and academic status
Business Tourism students
Romania
8
Chirieleison and Scrucca
(2017)
Ethics education and personal values
Economics students
Italy
9
Teixeira et al. (2018)
gender, age, professional experience, and
academic degree
University students
Portugal
10
Ugwuozor and Otu (2019)
Business ethics courses
University students
Nigeria
11
Deer and Zarestky (2016)
Ethics Curriculum
University students
USA
12
Eweje and Brunton (2010)
Age, gender, and professional experience
University students
New Zealand
13
Larrán et al. (2018)
Cultural, socioeconomic, and legal forces
Business students versus
Accounting students
Spain
14
Vázquez, Lanero, and
Licandro (2013)
Level of education
Undergraduate students
Uruguay
15
Tormo-Carbó et al. (2016)
Business ethics course
Undergraduate students
Spain
16
Asghar et al. (2015)
Business education and managerial
experience
Students
Pakistan
are expected to show more empathy and kindness borne out of life
However, age does not guarantee empathy and goodness since
experience. They are expected to seek the common good of peo-
age may not be an accurate reflection of wisdom and understand-
ple and be less self-centered. Based on this premise, older students
ing. There have been instances where younger students have shown
may be expected to show more CSR disposition. Some studies that
more inclination toward CSR (see Eweje & Brunton, 2010; Teixeira
support this notion include Fitzpatrick (2013) and Pätäri, Arminen,
et al., 2018). Seeking social good and increased CSR disposition may
Albareda, Puumalainen, and Toppinen (2017). Luthar and Karri
be borne of a combination of factors, for instance, life, work, and
(2005) also find that academic status and age correlate positively
professional experiences (Fitzpatrick, 2013; Teixeira et al., 2018).
with ethical values. Thus, older students by age and class tend to
Since age may not be a good indicator of CSR disposition, it is im-
more ethically aware. This is also consistent with the findings of
portant to note that older students may not always be wiser. Although
Alonso-Almeida, Fernandez de Navarrete, and Rodriguez-Pomeda
older students are generally expected to be in higher classes or levels,
(2015) that show that academic status is positively related to stu-
this is not always the case. Some older students could be in lower
dents’ disposition to CSR. That is, older students in terms of level
levels of study. Thus, age may not always and adequately reflect stu-
of study are more ethically aware and disposed to CSR than re-
dents’ CSR disposition. A plausible measure might be students’ age on
cently admitted students—the sophomores and freshmen. In a re-
campus. Kaya, Ötken, and Okan (2014) assume that students’ duration
lated sense, Ryan, O’Malley, and O’Dwyer (2010) finds that first and
on campus proffers more life experience on campus, and hence, may
third-year college students are more justice-oriented (focusing on
stimulate their CSR perception. Therefore, this study tests the follow-
fairness and equality), and are likely to be more CSR-sensitive than
ing hypothesis among undergraduates and postgraduates:
their graduate counterparts in the MBA program. The latter, however, tend to be more utilitarian, and are interested in maximizing
benefits and minimizing costs in their approach to ethical dilemmas.
Hypothesis 2 Academic status does not influence students’ perception
of CSR.
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UGWUOZOR
TA B L E 2 Summary of demographic
characteristics
Exposure
Gender
Academic Status
Value label
N
%
1.00
Those who were exposed to
business ethics courses
361
50.3%
2.00
Those who were not exposed to
business ethics courses
357
49.7%
1.00
Male
338
47.1%
2.00
Female
380
52.9%
1.00
First Year
310
43.2%
2.00
Final Year
250
34.8%
3.00
Postgraduate
158
22.0%
Total
718
100.0%
Total
2.3 | Gender and CSR
Table 2 shows the distribution of students according to selected
demographic characteristics. The number of students per level, per
The foregoing hypotheses are presumably gender neutral. Studies have
university is sourced from the National Universities Commission
shown that male and female genders are different in ethical disposi-
(NUC). 361 (50.3%) are exposed to BECs while 357 (49.7%) are not.
tions. Most of the studies in this regard show that females are more
Of the respondents, 338 (47.1%) are male students and 380 (52.9%)
ethically disposed than males. Women are, therefore, assumed to be
are female students. 310 (43.2%) of the respondents are first-year
more resilient and conscientious in ensuring that businesses are “kindly”
students, 250 (34.8%) are final-year students, and 158 (22.0%) are
(Kaya et al., 2014). Among students, the results are inconclusive. Female
postgraduate students (see Table 1 for summary of demographic
students have also been perceived to be more CSR-sensitive and dis-
data).
posed than their male counterparts (Alonso-Almeida et al., 2015; Luthar
& Karri, 2005). Several studies have tested the hypothesis whether male
and female students differ in their CSR disposition. Of these studies,
3.2 | Ethical consideration
only a few such as Fatoki’s (2016) study of South African students, focused on African students. To fill this gap, this study tests the following
We ensured that no compulsion or fraud was practiced through-
hypothesis on gender effects of students-CSR perception:
out the research. Informed consent, as part of an opening letter,
was attached to the survey questionnaires, outlining the objec-
Hypothesis 3 Gender effects do not influence students’ perception of
corporate social responsibility.
tives and desired outcomes of the research. In accordance with the
Ethical Guidelines and Procedures for Research Involving Human
Participants, participants’ right to withdraw from the study at any
3 | M E TH O D O LO G Y
time was respected. The participants’ right to dignity and protection
from harm was also respected.
Following ethical approval and approval from the heads of de-
This section describes the study area, population, sample, how the
partment (HODs) in the target universities, the questionnaires were
data are collected, the instruments for data collection, and data
administered like an exam in classrooms by trained research assis-
analysis techniques.
tants. The HODs also helped identify and gather students in the
classrooms to brief them on the essence and objectives of the study.
3.1 | Population and sample
They also assisted in sorting out those who had taken BECs from
those who had not. Retrieved questionnaires were then subjected
to data cleaning before analyses. The entire exercise took place
The population of interest are students of business administration in
during the fall of 2017/18 academic session and lasted for a period
five federal universities in Southeast Nigeria. Using a stratified sam-
of 3 months.
pling approach, 718 students are selected using the Yamane (1967)
formula for representative sampling.
N
n=
1 ? N(e)2
3.3 | Measures
The instrument, Perceived Role of Ethics and Social Responsibility Scale
(PRESORS) developed by Singhapakdi, Vitell, Rallapalli, and Kraft
where: n = Sample size; N = Population of the study; e = level of
(1996), was administered to students to collect data about their per-
precision of 5%.
ception of CSR. It is developed “for measuring marketers’ perceptions
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regarding the importance of ethics and social responsibility” (See
and work experiences may not be valid candidate variable for as-
Singhapakdi et al., (1996)). It consists of a 13-item scale subdivided into
sessing students’ disposition to CSR. Since students grow from
three factors that influence business behavior: organizations’ trade-off
freshman to postgraduate levels and are exposed to similar learning
between social responsibility and profitability; motivation in pursuit of
content, how it influences their perception makes class or academic
long-term gains; and motivation in pursuit of short-term gains.
status a preferred variable to age and work experience which are
The questions in the Social Responsibility and Profitability subscale
student-specific. Moreover, academic status, in this regard, class or
focus on compatibility between responsibility and profitability, trading
level of study, is a proxy blend of age and professional experience.
ethics for business survival, and business competitiveness in the global
Therefore, academic status is a more robust, and hence, preferred
environment. Questions for “Long-term Gains” are on primacy of eth-
variable over age and/or working experience.
ics and social responsibility, trade-off between ethics, social responsi-
Exposure to courses on ethics is one of the few interventions
bility, and long-term profitability. Questions for “Short-term Gains” are
intended to sensitize students toward CSR and ethical business be-
on working for the primary benefits of shareholders, primacy of profit,
havior. Therefore, some studies compare the ethical disposition and
and profiteering at the expense of social responsibility.
CSR-sensitivity of students exposed to BECs and those who have
Since its inception, PRESOR has been modified and/or aug-
not been exposed to test for the efficacy of BEE. Some other de-
mented to suit related measures of consumer behavior relative
mographic variables have been included in PRESORS. For instance,
to their disposition to organization behavior (for instance, see
Fitzpatrick and Cheng (2014) add spirituality as one of the determi-
Fitzpatrick & Cheng, 2014; Gorondutse & Hilman, 2012; Teixeira
nants of CSR. Fitzpatrick and Cheng (2014) and Larrán et al. (2018)
et al., 2018). All the factors in PRESOR are in line with assumptions
add location and department, respectively.
of the Stakeholder’s Theory of business. Stakeholder’s Theory indi-
PRESORS has previously been found to have acceptable reli-
cates that it is important for businesses to provide services that ben-
ability and validity of high range values above 0.7 (Etheridge, 1999;
efit internal and external stakeholders, to provide welfare and value
Gorondutse & Hilman, 2012; Singhapakdi et al., 1996; Ugwuozor &
to the suppliers of raw materials, employees and the wider society.
Otu, 2019). For this study, the PRESOR has a reliability coefficient
Provision of such services should be an obligation and legal impera-
alpha of 0.71.
tive rather than a privilege. Thus, all the questions in PRESOR suggest obligations of a business to internal and external stakeholders.
Hence, students’ response to all the questions measures their overall
3.4 | Analytical techniques
perception to business behavior and social responsibility.
For analytical tractability, this study modifies PRESOR from a
One-way Analyses of Variance (ANOVA) is used to test the hypoth-
9-point Likert scale to 4 which range from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4
eses. It measures the effect of the independent (groups) variables
(strongly agree). To measure the overall score of the students’ per-
on the dependent variables. The dependent variables are the mean
ception of CSR, all the items in PRESOR are collapsed into a single
scores of students’ responses to CSR questions in the PRESOR in-
mean score. Following Luthar and Karri (2005), PRESOR is further
struments. The groups are the variables in in the PRESOR question-
augmented to include the following demographic variables—expo-
naire: exposure—students exposed to BECs and those not exposed,
sure to BECs, academic status measured by class (freshmen, final
academic status—freshmen, final year students, and postgraduate
year, and postgraduate students), and gender.
students, and gender—male and female students.
The variables selection is motivated by research evidence with
respect to gender, class, and exposure to BECs. Since scholarly ev-
yi = ?? i + ??i
idence indicates that males and females exhibit different ethical
dispositions (Luthar & Karri, 2005; Tormo-Carbó et al., 2018), it be-
where, yi is the grand mean score of the observations, ??i is the ob-
comes crucial to examine the perception of male and female stu-
served mean for each observation, and ??i is the variability within the
dents to CSR. A blend of their dispositions may be more effective in
sample.
running businesses in the future.
Each of the hypotheses as indicated earlier is tested: ??1 = ?? 2 = ?? 3.
Class is an indicator or a proxy for a student’s age and how long
they have stayed on campus (Tormo-Carbó et al., 2018). It is considered that older and more experienced students are in the higher
school classes. Since ethical disposition changes with evolving
student realities, it is often intuitive or instructive to compare the
students’ ethical perception or disposition. Nevertheless, older stu-
4 | R E S U LT S
4.1 | Effect of business ethics education on
students’ perception of CSR
dents may belong to lower classes and vice versa. For this reason,
Tormo-Carbó et al. (2019) also include students’ work experience
This section describes the results of the hypotheses proposed for the
to reflect their levels of exposure and maturity. However, there are
study—on the effects of taking BECs, gender, and academic status
situations where years and experiences on campus may validate,
on students’ perception of CSR. The results in Table 3 show that tak-
or change, students’ CSR or ethical disposition. To this effect, age
ing BECs significantly influences students’ perception of CSR with F
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UGWUOZOR
TA B L E 3
a
ANOVA showing that taking business ethics courses significantly influenced students’ perception of CSR
Source
Type III sum of
squares
df
Mean square
F
Sig.
Partial eta
squared
Noncent.
parameter
Observed
powerb
Corrected Model
82.368a
1
82.368
141.373
.000
.165
141.373
1.000
Intercept
7,273.824
1
7,273.824
12,484.478
.000
.946
12,484.478
1.000
Exposure
82.368
1
82.368
141.373
.000
.165
141.373
1.000
Error
417.163
76
.583
Total
7,782.20
78
Corrected Total
499.531
717
R Squared = .165 (Adjusted R Squared = .164).
b
Computed using alpha