Is Corporate Social Entrepreneurship a (So Far) Missed Opportunity for Higher Education Institutions? Evidence from Germany

Abstract

(1) Background: Corporate social entrepreneurship (CSE) is a young phenomenon courting recognition that is attracting increasing attention in academia and corporate practice. Nevertheless, it has rarely found its way into the curricula of higher education institutions (HEI), which raises the question of the concept’s potential for further development in the realm of academic teaching; (2) Our study is based on a mostly qualitative research design consisting of expert interviews, focus groups, and a low-standardized survey; (3) Results: Corporate social entrepreneurship is seen as having strong potential to enrich education at institutions of higher learning, to establish new forms of teaching, and to bridge the gap between higher education and society; (4) Conclusions: Although our results indicate industry need and student demand for competent corporate social entrepreneurs, German HEIs have not yet integrated CSE-specific education into their curricula. However, the required competences are covered by CSE-related fields of study, which hampers the holistic education of CSE learners. A CSE curriculum needs to cover core CSE concepts as well as key competences, and the engagement of quadruple helix stakeholders requires an adjustable and transversal approach of curriculum development.