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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.

Purpose: This study aims to identify a sustainable university's key features. It is an essential step in tracing the topics discussed in the context of a sustainable university and their evolution in the scientific discourse. Design/methodology/approach: This paper relies on a systematic literature review (SLR) conducted using two scholarly databases: Emerald and Scopus. The timeframe selected by the authors for reviewing the available sources spans from 2001 to 2021. Findings: The analysis distinguished seven sustainable university categories, each revealing critical features of sustainable higher education. Each of these categories represents an intriguing area for in-depth analysis. The SLR reveals gaps requiring further scientific exploration. Research limitations/implications: The performed literature review was determined by the choice of entries (keywords) to identify the scientific papers in the selected databases. Moreover, as the authors aimed to focus on peer-reviewed sources, this SLR did not include books and doctoral dissertations dealing with the studied issues. Practical implications: The results of the analysis can be used practically by both researchers and practitioners in the field of sustainable development (SD). Identified scientific gaps become a potential research field, and practitioners interested in the transition toward SD may contribute by accompanying universities in this journey. Collaboration and networking with business stakeholders are critical vectors for spreading the idea of SD. Social implications: Society's growing concern for climate change requires accurate and specific actions from institutions. As entities educating future generations, universities have a unique role in transforming toward SD. The findings allow us to get acquainted with the existing main activities undertaken by higher education institutions in this field and understand the importance of this topic for researchers. Originality/value: SLR is a cornerstone of research synthesis and helps integrate scientific evidence from qualitative and quantitative published studies. Conducted research presents knowledge about university sustainability and can help scientists find research gaps.

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.