Social responsibility indicators: perspective of stakeholders in Brazil and in the UK

Abstract

This article aimed at the construction of representative indicators of social responsibility information, from the perspective of stakeholders in Brazil and the UK, for the disclosure of Philanthropic Higher Education Organizations (PHEOs) in its Internet websites. Using the grounded theory techniques, we raised evidence that enabled us to identify social responsibility information valued by PHEOs stakeholders in Brazil and the UK. We developed the research in four phases: systematization, evaluation, valuation and econometric validation of the indicators. As a result, we have built a relationship that includes 186 indicators of stakeholder interests. Of these, we identified 84 indicators, subdivided into ten categories of social responsibility, which include the indicators considered most relevant by the experts and stakeholders for the PHEOs disclosure. The article contributes to the formulation of the PHEOs disclosure policies and to the recommendations and regulations of the institutional bodies at the moment in which it demonstrates the information of interest of the stakeholders, as well as those that should be highlighted in the first place because they are considered more relevant. Therefore, from the results of this research, the PHEOs disclosure has the possibility to reflect the interests of external stakeholders, adding value to the transparency and accountability of organizations.

Appendices

Appendix A: building of the indicator set

Based on the literature review, suggestions from stakeholders in Brazil and in the UK are submitted for validation by Scholars.

No.	Social responsibility indicators	Literature review	Stakeholders Brazil	Stakeholders Reino Unido	Triangulation
1	Access to legislation of interest to society		1		1
2	Access to public portals of interest to stakeholders		1
3	Work accidents	1			1
4	Actions to reduce environmental impact	1	1
5	Accommodations (costs and locations)			1
6	Research promotion agencies		1
7	Support for government campaigns and projects	1			1
8	Psychopedagogical support for students	1			1
9	Articulation with the various social segments		1
10	Assistance and employee benefits	1	1		1
11	External and internal audits	1
12	Extra online courses		1
13	Social balance sheet	1	1
14	Benefits to students		1	1
15	Benefits to employees	1		1
16	Calendário acadêmico		1
17	Campanha motivacional (estudar na IES)		1
18	Capacidade × Ociosidade	1
19	Clima organizacional	1
20	Código de Conduta	1
21	Academic calendar	1			1
22	Motivational campaign (study at the PHEO)	1			1
23	Capacity × Idleness	1	1		1
24	Organizational climate	1			1
25	Code of conduct	1
26	Strategic alliances and alliances	1			1
27	Growth in student numbers	1			1
28	Courses related to environmental issues			1
29	Courses related to social issues			1
30	Cost of living			1
31	Cost of courses in general and per student	1			1
32	Consumer rights statements			1
33	Demonstration that the PHEO adds value to stakeholders			1
34	Financial statements	1	1	1	1
35	Discounts for students		1
36	Tips for landscaping and gardening with recyclables		1
37	health tips		1
38	Availability of academic output	1	1	1	1
39	Disclosure of events		1
40	Donations received	1	1		1
41	Donors (list of the main)	1			1
42	Education and environmental awareness	1	1
43	Involvement with social actions/community	1	1	1	1
44	Physical space for students’ coexistence	1	1	1	1
45	Space for event suggestions		1
46	Organizational governance structure	1	1	1	1
47	Student financing		1
48	Trophy gallery		1
49	Organizational risk management		1
50	Teachers’ timetable		1
51	History of the organization	1	1		1
52	Laboratory hours		1
53	Teachers’ hours		1
54	Environmental impact of activities	1		1	1
55	Social impact in the community	1	1	1
56	Impacts on local economy			1
57	Incentives for academics	1	1	1	1
58	Efficiency indicators		1
59	Economic indicators	1	1		1
60	Financial indicators	1	1		1
61	Approval rate	1			1
62	Information to employees on the intranet		1
63	Philanthropy information	1	1		1
64	Student information		1	1
65	Information on scholarships	1	1	1
66	Information on internships	1	1
67	Event information		1	1
68	Information on exchange programs		1
69	Course information		1	1
70	Supplier information	1			1
71	Information about teachers and employees		1	1
72	Information on race, gender and minorities at work	1	1	1	1
73	Information on outsourced services	1			1
74	Interaction with the community/allumni (to undertake or to employ)	1		1	1
75	Investment in improvement in employees		1
76	Investment in research and development	1			1
77	Environmental investments	1	1	1	1
78	Investments in infrastructure	1	1	1	1
79	Investments in courses		1
80	Social investments	1	1	1	1
81	Gap of pay between genders			1	1
82	Environmental legislation	1	1		1
83	Labor and social security legislation	1			1
84	Environmental litigation/fines or liabilities	1			1
85	Maps of campuses		1	1
86	Mechanisms of communication with stakeholders	1	1		1
87	Organizational goals and objectives	1			1
88	Document models		1
89	Institutional rules (statute, rules, codes)	1	1
90	Notes from ENADE/ENEM		1
91	News and environmental information	1	1	1	1
92	News and information on economy		1
93	Number of social services provided/made available		1
94	Job opportunities inside and outside the PHEO	1	1		1
95	Vocational orientation		1
96	Student orientations			1
97	Business partners			1
98	Search partners			1
99	Social partners			1
100	Board of directors’ opinions		1
101	PHEO’s market share	1	1		1
102	External participation in councils	1
103	Sponsorships (art, culture, sports and others)	1
104	Percent increase in tuition		1
105	Profile of the former student	1	1		1
106	Student profile	1	1		1
107	Profile of advisers	1			1
108	Leaders profile	1			1
109	Employee profile	1	1		1
110	Market research for future courses		1
111	Student opinion and satisfaction survey	1	1	1	1
112	Research and development		1
113	Strategic planning	1	1	1	1
114	Career path	1	1	1	1
115	Institutional development plan		1
116	Management plan		1
117	Course evaluation policy	1	1		1
118	Internship policy	1			1
119	Social inclusion policy		1
120	Intellectual capital investment policy	1	1		1
121	Surplus reinvestment policy.	1			1
122	Health and safety policy of the PHEO			1
123	Supplier selection policy	1			1
124	Training and development policy	1	1	1	1
125	Environmental policies	1	1	1	1
126	Policies to support social projects	1		1	1
127	Employability policies	1			1
128	Equal rights policies			1
129	Investment policies	1	1
130	Recruitment and selection policies	1	1	1	1
131	Social responsibility policies	1		1	1
132	Sustainability policies	1	1	1
133	Strategic positioning			1
134	Sustainability practices	1	1	1	1
135	Price of courses and events/tuition fees	1	1	1	1
136	Weather forecast		1
137	Selective process of students		1
138	Selective process of directors and managers	1			1
139	Selective process of teachers and staff	1			1
140	PHEO branded products		1
141	Student union products and services		1
142	Student loyalty program	1			1
143	Research incentive programs		1
144	Volunteer programs	1	1
145	Financial projections		1
146	Courses pedagogical project		1
147	Environmental projects	1	1		1
148	Expansion/investment projects	1	1
149	Extension and research projects in progress		1		1
150	New courses projects	1	1		1
151	Projects for the generation of jobs		1
152	Social projects	1	1
153	Course target audience		1
154	Quality of products and services offered	1	1
155	List of teachers and staff with e-mail		1
156	List of products and services offered	1	1	1	1
157	Relationship with customers	1	1
158	Community relations	1
159	Relations with unions and class organs	1
160	Environmental report		1
161	Annual report	1		1	1
162	Auditors/councils report	1			1
163	Management report		1
164	Social responsibility report	1	1		1
165	Remuneration of board members	1			1
166	Remuneration of directors	1			1
167	Remuneration of employees	1			1
168	Repair of environmental damages		1
169	Resolutions of the councils	1	1		1
170	Respect for human rights	1
171	Supplier social responsibility	1
172	Social responsibility in strategic planning	1
173	Profit for the year (statement)	1	1	1	1
174	Strategic risk	1			1
175	Environmental risks	1			1
176	Employees’ satisfaction and motivation	1
177	Health and safety at the PHEO	1	1	1	1
178	Course segment	1			1
179	Community services	1	1
180	Library services	1	1	1	1
181	Internet services			1
182	Site in other languages		1
183	Government grants	1			1
184	Grants and donations received			1
185	Turnover	1	1		1
186	Vision, mission, principles and organizational values		1	1	1
	Totals	112	116	56	87

Appendix B: final set of indicators

Evaluation by experts and stakeholders in Brazil and the UK, average score of stakeholder assessment and final indicator set according to stakeholders perspective.

Categories	Indicators	Scholars	Stakeholders Brazil	Stakeholders RU	Total average	Final set
Environmental	Information on reduction in noise and air pollution	4.75	3.81	3.87	4.14	x
	Information on reducing water and energy consumption	4.75	4.20	4.12	4.36	x
	Environmental investments	4.75	4.37	4.25	4.46	x
	Environmental litigation/fines or liabilities	4.63	3.80	3.88	4.10	x
	Environmental policies	4.75	4.16	4.63	4.51	x
	Environmental projects	4.50	4.16	4.38	4.35	x
	Environmental risks	4.63	4.13	4.12	4.29	x
	Waste treatment	4.75	4.34	4	4.36	x
Social	Support for government campaigns	3.13	3.31	2.63	3.02
	Support for government projects	3.63	3.59	3.13	3.45
	Engagement of employees in social responsibility projects					x
	History of the Organization	3.00	3.81	3.75	3.52	x
	Interaction with the community/allumni (to undertake or to employ)	4.50	4.13	4	4.21	x
	Investment in Philanthropy	3.38	3.85	4.25	3.83	x
	Social investments	4.75	4.29	4.37	4.47	x
	Places to accommodate students					x
	Social responsibility policies	4.75	4.31	4.13	4.40	x
	Policies to support social projects	4.75	4.20	4.13	4.36	x
	Extension projects and community support	4.63	4.18	4.12	4.31	x
	Social responsibility report	4.50	4.05	4.25	4.27	x
Economic and Financial	Cost of living					x
	Cost of courses in general and per student	3.50	4.12	4.5	4.04	x
	Donations received	3.75	3.89	4.25	3.96	x
	Degree of indebtedness	3.75	3.97	4.12	3.95	x
	Investments in infrastructure	2.88	4.26	4	3.71	x
	Liquidity	3.38	3.98	3.75	3.70	x
	Result for the year	4.00	4.17	4.25	4.14	x
	Government grants	3.63	4.21	3.88	3.91	x
	Surplus over revenue	3.25	4.10	4	3.78	x
	Surplus over Shareholders’ equity	3.13	4.13	3.75	3.67	x
Products and services	Course information					x
	Percentage of student Approval	3.00	3.96	3.5	3.49	x
	Percentage of students dropping out					x
	Publication of research/communication of results	3.75	4.13	4.75	4.21	x
	Course segment	2.88	3.99	4.12	3.66	x
	Library services	3.50	4.15	4.5	4.05	x
Strategic	Strategic alliances	3.25	3.96	3.63	3.61
	Investment in research and development	4.63	4.41	4.63	4.55	x
	Organizational goals and objectives	4.50	4.13	4.63	4.42	x
	Vision, mission, principles and organizational values	4.13	4.26	4.63	4.34	x
	Social, business and research partners					x
	PHEO’s market share	3.25	4.03	3.75	3.68	x
	Course evaluation policy (government)	4.00	4.24	4.25	4.16	x
	Course evaluation policy (students)	3.88	4.21	4.38	4.15	x
	Surplus reinvestment policy	3.88	4.07	4	3.98	x
	Health and safety policy of the PHEO					x
	New Courses Projects	3.25	4.14	4.13	3.84	x
	Strategic risk	3.88	3.97	3.87	3.90	x
Governance	Composition of councils (community)	4.13	3.94	4	4.02	x
	Composition of the councils (students)	4.13	3.99	3.88	4.00	x
	Composition of councils (officials)	4.00	4.03	3.88	3.97	x
	Organizational governance structure	2.50	4.27	3.7	3.49
	Profile of advisers	2.90	3.86	3.75	3.50	x
	Leaders profile	3.50	3.91	3.38	3.60	x
	Selective process of counselors	3.13	3.84	3.75	3.57	x
	Selective process of the leaders	3.25	3.95	3.75	3.65	x
	Report of the auditors and advisors	4.38	3.97	4.25	4.20	x
	Resolutions of the councils	3.38	3.78	4.1	3.75	x
Ethics	Contact channel/ombudsman/contact us	4.13	4.14	4.12	4.13	x
	Conduct code	4.00	4.18	3.9	4.03
	Ethics committee	4.63	4.10	4.35	4.36	x
	Ethical commitments	4.50	4.34	4.75	4.53	x
Legal	Consumer code	2.88	4.02	4.25	3.72	x
	Environmental legislation	4.50	4.04	3.87	4.14	x
	Labor and social security legislation	4.25	4.13	4	4.13	x
Internal stakeholders	Work accidents	4.00	4.24	3.5	3.91	x
	Benefits to employees	4.75	4.30	4.13	4.39	x
	Gender information at work	3.75	3.55	3.85	3.72	x
	Information on minorities at work	4.50	3.44	3.75	3.90
	Information on race at work	4.00	3.10	3.9	3.67
	Labor litigation/fines or liabilities					x
	Employee profile	2.88	3.85	3.75	3.49	x
	Training and development policy	3.88	4.27	4.13	4.09	x
	Selective process of teachers and staff	3.50	4.09	3.75	3.78
	Employability policies	3.25	4.00	3.75	3.67	x
	Recruitment and selection policies	3.50	4.15	3.75	3.80	x
	Intellectual capital investment policy	4.13	4.08	4.13	4.11	x
	Remuneration of Board members	3.00	3.63	4.0	3.54	x
	Remuneration of directors	3.13	3.68	3.95	3.58	x
	Remuneration of employees	3.50	3.86	4	3.79	x
	Health and safety at the PHEO	4.25	4.34	4	4.20
	Turnover	3.50	3.96	3	3.49
External stakeholders	Psychopedagogical support for students	4.38	4.22	3.75	4.11	x
	Scholarship	4.25	4.51	3.88	4.21	x
	Growth in student numbers	3.38	4.04	3.25	3.56	x
	Donors (list of the main)	2.75	3.58	3.65	3.33
	Employment for students	3.63	4.36	4	4.00	x
	Physical space for students’ coexistence	2.75	4.09	3.38	3.41
	Internships for students					x
	Expenses with local suppliers	3.25	3.80	3.75	3.60	x
	Information on outsourced services	3.25	3.66	4	3.64	x
	Profile of the former student	3.50	3.85	3.75	3.70	x
	Student profile	3.13	3.90	3.88	3.64	x
	Student opinion and satisfaction survey	4.00	4.23	4.25	4.16	x
	Internship policy	3.38	4.13	4.13	3.88	x
	Supplier selection policy	3.25	3.97	4	3.74	x
	Student loyalty program	2.88	3.80	3.75	3.48