How effective are business ethics/CRS courses in higher education?

Abstract

[EN] Concern is increasing worldwide for introducing dedicated courses on business ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in higher education curricula. In this study, awareness of business ethics is investigated from a sample of 307 undergraduate and postgraduate management students at a Polish university. This investigation aims at assessing management students' awareness of business ethics issues, focusing on the potential differences in such perceptions depending on previous business ethics/CSR courses taken. Surprisingly, our results do not match prior findings in the extant literature. Notably, in our sample, having taken previous courses on business ethics/CSR does not play a relevant role in students' ethical awareness. These findings stimulate further questions (e.g., considering business ethics/CSR course design and methodology issues) and challenges for future research.