Monika Sady

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The study examines how top European universities incorporate sustainability into their campus infrastructure, focusing on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs 6, 7, 11, 12, 13). Although interest in sustainability is increasing, strategies and infrastructure at the campus level are underexplored. The research highlights the gap between declared sustainability commitments and practical actions. THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: Using Times Higher Education Impact Rankings and qualitative desk research, a mixed-method approach was applied to analyze six leading EU universities. THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: Higher education institutions (HEIs) are key to sustainability, but harm the environment through resource use, commuting, and high energy and water consumption. Their large infrastructures produce significant organic waste, increasing emissions. At the same time, many excel in sustainability. RESEARCH RESULTS: The study found SDG 11 (sustainable communities) was frequently addressed, while SDG 6 (clean water) was the least reported. Universities often express intentions rather than outcomes; a lack of English-language information limits transparency. Many top-ranked institutions do not prioritize campus sustainability due to non-standard metrics, fragmented communication, and inconsistent reporting. CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND APPLICABLE VALUE OF RESEARCH: The authors suggest enhancing data access, standardizing measurement tools, and including non-ranked universities in further research to provide a comprehensive view of sustainability in higher education. This has practical implications for policy, governance, and international collaboration on sustainable campus development.

The purpose of the article is to introduce the Personal Social Responsibility Scale – a tool used to measure the intensity and multidimensionality of Personal Social Responsibility, and the process of its’ creation. The authors conceptualized the scale and conducted research on a sample of 3019 people. Based on this research, a 19-question scale was built, referring to 6 dimensions of social responsibility: Self-Responsibility, Care for Natural Resources, Care for Animals, Care for Family and Friends, Care for the Future of the World, and Activism.

Social responsibility is a multidimensional construct which manifests itself in many areas of human life – in both the private and professional spheres. In business, people’s individual attitudes are often the starting point for organizational activities. Even the most ethical business behavior, if not matched by changes on the part of individuals, will not create a change on a larger scale. Thus, personal social responsibility can be defined as a key element of corporate social responsibility (CSR), because the implementation of this idea in business depends on the behavior of the individuals working in the company. The main purpose of the article is to investigate published knowledge concerning the concept of personal or individual social responsibility (PSR or ISR) and the personal or individual social responsibility scale. The authors made a systematic literature review, analyzing full-text scholarly articles published between 2000 and 2021. International databases and journal libraries – EBSCO, JSTOR, Mendeley, Wiley Online Library, Web of Science, and Scopus – were searched using the logical phrases “personal social responsibility,” “individual social responsibility,” “personal social responsibility scale,” and “individual social responsibility scale.” The analysis shows that the concept of individual/personal social responsibility is considered in the literature in various contexts, though few works are available on this concept and even fewer describe its indicators. Using keywords relevant to the area, 14 publications were selected for analysis. This leads to the conclusion that there is a research gap in this area, which the authors intend to fill in the course of further research.

Purpose: The article focuses on the assessment of knowledge workers’ relation with superiors, internal communication, perceived autonomy and feeling of appreciation. The goal of the article is also to extend current knowledge of the perception of cooperation between employees. The authors were able to identify interdependencies among the researched variables and the impact of COVID-19 on peoples’ professional situation. Design/methodology/approach: The article presents the results of a CAWI survey conducted on a large sample of 2778 specialists and managers in Poland. The researchers used the purposive sampling method to reach the population of white-collar workers who experienced remote work or remote cooperation with their colleagues. Findings: The empirical study showed that in most cases superiors passed the test and were positively evaluated by their subordinates. The correlation analysis also showed that certain positive qualities of a manager go together and are positively correlated with professional situation assessment during the COVID-19 period. Research limitations/implications: The study describes the results in a large sample; however, the sampling method was not probabilistic and therefore we cannot use statistical inference for the general population of working specialists in Poland. Originality/value: The value of the article is the presentation of the up-to-date opinion of almost 3 thousands specialists employed in Poland. The text plays an important role in recording the influence of the pandemic on Polish employees.

Universities play an important role in creating social attitudes. The objective of this research was to identify the ways to measure and report the social and environmental impact of Polish universities. While social responsibility at universities is discussed, many of them strive to create indicators that would help them communicate and report undertaken actions. This situation is mainly caused by the lack of a set of indicators, which would be intended specifically for universities and could be used to measure their impact. The presented research is aimed at reviewing socially responsible reporting practices of Polish Universities. To investigate how 24 Polish public universities publish and promote information related to their social and environmental impact, a research of their websites, official university documents, and reports has been conducted. To broaden the context and scope of the analysis, they were also investigated in the context of presence in international rankings, and participation in international organizations.

Contemporary organizations operate in an increasingly turbulent environment that generates not only predictable changes, but also “black swans”. Winning organisations must be agile, flexible and constantly learning. Changes in the management system cover each of its components, from strategy, through systems, processes, structure, staff, organisational culture and other elements. The management science follow changes both in business environment and in management of organisations. The most important trends are described and new theories emerge. The monograph includes 29 articles written by 50 authors presenting different theoretical and empirical studies. In five parts of that book the most important challenges and trends concerning strategie management; modern approaches, methods and measures in management; sustainability and CSR; HR Management; and other were indicated. We believe that content of that book leads us to better understanding challenges and trends of contemporary organisations and management.

The main business goal of a startup is usually fast development and ultimately generating satisfactory profits. However, there are startups whose main purpose is not only to maximize financial profits, but to have a positive social impact. This noble business idea has many representatives: inspirational startups operating in the field of eco-innovation, social innovation, social change and social entrepreneurship. This article explores the ideation and practice of the concept of startups with dual mission. Literature review situates the idea within a broader context of socially responsible business practices, social innovation, social entrepreneurship and dual mission. The article is also an attempt to show what legal forms can be used for startups with dual mission in Poland.

The growing importance of sustainable development constitutes a challenging trend for education. Universities create study programs and organize extracurricular activities in order to prepare future generations of professionals as well as political and social leaders for responsible actions toward sustainable development. The main objective of this article is to investigate how universities in Poland develop educational programs and extracurricular activities to enable students to shape sustainability competencies. The study employed a triangulation of research methods including a literature analysis, desk research analysis of the universities’ educational programs, and quantitative research among students. The findings suggest that Polish universities attempt to shape sustainable development-oriented competencies not only through formal sustainable development education, but also via non-formal activities toward social and environmental challenges. The research results have practical implications for universities and can support the advancement of educational programs related to sustainable development.