CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: CLASSIFICATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS INTO RESPONSIVE OR STRATEGIC FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Abstract

This article aims to assess the corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies in higher education institutions (HEIs) from the corporate governance perspective. To accomplish the central purpose of the article, a governance typology was built based on Brazilian Institute of Corporate Governance’s best practice guide. The CSR actions of the HEIs were classified as strategic or responsive, according to this framework. The research methodology is qualitative and the data analysis is descriptive. Data collection was conducted through desk research and were used as primary information source HEIs’s websites and their financial statements. The article identified that private HEIs are positioned predominantly in reactive CSR strategy, i.e., they are geared to compliance with legal provisions. Thus, we identify progress opportunities for HEI to practices aiming at strategic CSR, mainly related to increasing transparency in their relations with stakeholders. Due to the growing importance of governance and ethics in business, the work contributes to the improvement of higher education management in aspects relating to transparency and corporate governance, encouraging HEIs’s managers, through practical suggestions, towards greater transparency this market