Luu Thi Nguyen
FPT University
ACBSP Region 10 Annual Conference
2023, pp. 65 – 72
Abstract
As prospective future business leaders, business student attitudes toward corporate social responsibility (CSR) is vital. Therefore, business schools and institutions have a responsibility to produce graduates who act in an ethical and socially responsible way when they practice business. Although business ethics courses are compulsorily required by both international accrediting organizations AACSB and ACBSP, the effectiveness of such courses is often questioned. This research uses survey data collected from business students of a private business university in Vietnam to provide empirical evidence on the effect of participation in business ethics classes on students’ perceptions of CSR. The results show that after joining the course, students tend to have a higher level of general CSR perception. However, when assessing the two separate factors of CSR perception (i.e., perceptions of short-term versus long-term responsibilities), the effect of business ethics education on long-term responsibility perception is not significant, while the effect on short-term responsibility perception remains significant. The findings provide recommendations for business schools, accrediting organizations, and the students themselves to review and refine teaching syllabi and methodology so that the teaching and learning of business ethics at business schools could achieve a higher impact and create more authentic and sustainable values.
Keywords: CSR perception, Business ethics education, business education, ACBSP
