University social responsibility in recent scientific output: a literature review, 2022-2026
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35622/j.rie.2026.04.002Keywords:
educational management, higher education, social responsibility, sustainable developmentAbstract
The aim was to analyze the scientific output on university social responsibility published between 2022 and 2026 in journals indexed in SciELO, Scopus or Web of Science. A qualitative literature review guided by the PRISMA 2020 statement was carried out. The search in Crossref and OpenAlex retrieved 245 records; after removing duplicates, applying the eligibility criteria and verifying the indexing of each journal, 40 articles were analyzed. Quality was appraised with the Joanna Briggs Institute checklist and the mixed methods appraisal tool, and the information was examined through thematic content analysis in five subcategories. Of the 37 appraisable studies, 31 reached high or medium quality. The model of the four university impacts was a common framework in Ibero-American studies; institutional management was oriented toward the sustainable development goals, with weak communication and legal and knowledge barriers; students and faculty mostly rated social responsibility favorably, although with exceptions and differences by profile; service-learning and community projects were associated with social capital and local entrepreneurship; and social responsibility was related to reputation, satisfaction, loyalty and performance, mainly through mediated paths. It is concluded that the evidence, mostly cross-sectional and based on self-reports, shows associations rather than causal effects, and that the research dimension and the voice of the external community remain underexplored.
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