In the modern world, commercial organizations are increasingly involved in addressing social issues within society. Recently, the topic of business engagement in solving social problems has been developing in Russia, with a focus on demographic policy. The aim of our research is to analyze university students' attitudes toward business as a subject of social problem-solving. We conducted group interviews with students from the largest regional university in Russia, during which the following aspects were discussed: attitudes toward the commercial sector, assessment of business contributions to national development, selection of the most "good" companies, perceptions of public authorities' attitudes toward business, and visions of the future with the increasing role of corporations. According to students, the primary role of business lies in job creation, meeting citizens' needs, and social responsibility. Students' opinions diverged regarding the state's attitude toward the commercial sector: on one hand, authorities use businesses for their own interests; on the other hand, the state and business are seen as partners. Respondents envision three main future scenarios: societal development, lack of change, and monopolization; they do not include increased social responsibility of businesses in their future scenarios. The results indicate a low level of understanding among students regarding the role of corporate social responsibility in societal development, a lack of comprehension about these practices, and the connection between specific practices and corporate citizenship principles. This highlights the significance of promoting awareness among the youth community about the importance of businesses - future employers - aligning with corporate citizenship principles.
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Funding Statement
This work is supported by the Russian Science Foundation under grant № 24-18-00854 https://rscf.ru/project/24-18-00854/
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