In recent
decades the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has
been adopted by many business sectors, including the pharmaceutical
industry. However, in this and other sectors its application remains
variable, particularly between mature and developing economies.
Its stakeholders include pharmacy and medical students, their
attitude to the involvement of companies in socially responsible
activities will be important determinants of public response to
the industry.
Objective: To investigate the knowledge, attitudes and practices
of senior medical and pharmacy students towards the CSR concept
in the pharmaceutical sector in mature (Germany) and developing
(Russia) markets.
Methods: A questionnaire survey was carried out among senior pharmacy
and medical students during the summer semester 2008 in two Russian
and one German university. In each country 120 questionnaires
were distributed. The response rate was 95% in Russia and 93%
in Germany.
Results: Although the relevance of CSR was widely acknowledged
by the students, very few were aware of CSR practices currently
performed by companies. The reputation of the pharmaceutical industry
was generally poor: less than 15% of respondents gave credence
to the information provided in advertisements and fully supported
pricing strategies as well as policies towards the developing
countries. When choosing an employer more than 90% of respondents
consider the policies affecting an employee directly as pivotal.
However, for a high proportion of students (59% in Russia and
64% in Germany) socially irresponsible behavior by companies has
a significant negative impact.
Conclusions: This paper identifies practices which students believe
should be a part of the CSR programmes for the pharmaceutical
industry, and also some that should be abandoned. It recommends
that corporate communication on CSR should be expanded. Key differences
are seen in perceptions of students in Germany and Russia towards
the extent of irresponsible actions and the variation between
them.
