Exploring corporate social responsibility values of millennial job-seeking students

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) work values of millennial undergraduates and their priorities among key CSR dimensions as a basis for the design of CSR curricula that will enhance students’ social responsibility values and their job choice decisions. Design/methodology/approach – Respondents were 238 senior undergraduates studying in three discipline areas at an Australian metropolitan university. Their CSR values were explored in the context of a hypothetical job choice scenario. Findings – While the majority of students rated CSR values highly in the job choice scenario, a larger majority were willing to trade this off for greater extrinsic benefits. Among millennial job-seeking students, workplace practices were rated the most important CSR dimension with environmental issues ranking last. Significant differences were found between gender and discipline. Research limitations/implications – Quantitative analysis only; use of cross-sectional, single-source data. Practical implications – In the context of greater extrinsic rewards, CSR values (particularly environmental concerns) are not front-of-mind in millennial students’ job choice decisions. This, coupled with high levels of indecision among business students may provide an important theoretical and practical basis for the development of CSR curricula in business courses in Australia. Originality/value – The study offers a unique insight into the CSR values of millennial business students vis-à-vis humanities and science students in a job choice context. These findings are important for designing effective business programs to shape the social responsibility behaviours of the next generation of managers and leaders.