By Gilles Grolleau, Naoufel Mzoughi and Marie Stadge
Well-intentioned university social responsibility (USR) initiatives are increasingly being implemented in higher education organizations. Nevertheless, these initiatives can sometimes backfire and undermine USR goals. We explore four mechanisms for this possible ‘dark side’ of USR: moral licensing, contamination by association, resistance from key agents and diverting attention and resources. We develop behaviorally inspired solutions to mitigate this risk.