Exploring the dimensions of university social responsibility and its influence on university competitiveness: A systematic literature review

Abstract

This study aims to explore the dimensions of University Social Responsibility (USR) and its influence on university competitiveness through a systematic literature review approach. Although USR has been widely discussed in higher education literature, existing studies remain fragmented because they often examine USR dimensions separately and provide limited explanation of how USR contributes to university competitiveness through internal stakeholder mechanisms. Therefore, a systematic review is necessary to consolidate existing evidence, identify conceptual gaps, and develop a more integrated understanding of the USR–competitiveness relationship. This study adopts the Systematic Literature Review (SLR) method guided by the PRISMA framework by analysing articles from the Scopus and Web of Science databases published between 2015 and 2025. A total of 42 articles were selected after the identification, screening, eligibility assessment, and inclusion processes. The findings identify seven main dimensions of USR, namely educational responsibility, research responsibility, social service responsibility, economic development responsibility, environmental responsibility, values and ethics responsibility, and globalization and sustainable development. The study also finds that USR contributes positively to university competitiveness through institutional reputation, stakeholder satisfaction, and research innovation. In particular, lecturer satisfaction is identified as an important mediating mechanism because lecturers play a central role in teaching, research, innovation, and institutional performance. The findings suggest that strategic and integrated USR implementation can strengthen the sustainable competitive advantage of universities. This study contributes to the development of a multidimensional conceptual framework of USR and provides a foundation for future empirical research.