PROMOTING CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE HIGHER EDUCATION BY FOSTERING SOCIAL INTRAPRENEURS ACTIONS

The concept of corporate social responsibility has evolved over time and now it is concerned to a wide range of organizations given the market character of the environment with its emphasis on globalization and competition. In this context, Higher Education Institutions are also aware about their impacts on their stakeholders and are implementing social responsible practices in order to maintain competitive advantage through addressing economic, social, and environmental issues. In this work the consideration of a specific institution's internal stakeholder is analysed in the Higher Education context: social intrapreneurs. The concept has recently emerged referring internal social actions to equilibrate the core business with purely social goals. We identify some social intrapreneurs in a specific University in Spain starting to implement social responsible practices. Conducting personal interviews, we analyse their potential role as catalysts for a social change in the institution and their role in transforming the institution in a more responsible one aware of social problems. The accumulated knowledge of social intrapreneurs, their wants and needs and disinterested support to social goals into the University, are object of analysis. The article offers as conclusions a timely contribution to current debates concerning the universities potential in society and their active role during a time of economic restraint. We believe that our findings should have considerable value for those who are interested in how the field of CSR is expanding at Higher Education institutions.