The Role of Values and Interdisciplinary Group Composition in Students’ Understanding of Corporate Social Responsibility

This study explores the relationship between students’ academic majors and values, and subsequently, their impact on student groups’ understanding of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Students were randomly assigned to groups in a business ethics course. Groups were tasked with writing a CSR policy statement for a fictional company. An individual survey was employed to measure students’ personal value priorities. We combined measures of student groups’ disciplinary heterogeneity and average value priorities with qualitative thematic analysis of CSR policy statements to identify patterns between values, group disciplinary composition, and CSR understanding. We found that group disciplinary composition related to differences in value priorities. On average, members of business student groups were characterized by values of achievement and conformity, while those of interdisciplinary groups were characterized most prominently by values of universalism, benevolence, and self-direction. We observed differences based on disciplinary distinctions in groups’ understanding of and approach to CSR. Business groups took an organization-based perspective, considering CSR in terms of issues, while interdisciplinary groups took a relational, macro-systems perspective, considering CSR in terms of ongoing relationships with stakeholders. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.