Abstract:
This study examines University Social Responsibility (USR) undertaken by Kenyan Public
Universities with focus on the prominence, extent and style of communication on the Web. The
study adopted a descriptive design.15 websites and 15 social media sites of public and private
universities were analyzed using the USR Model (2009) and three USR communication
strategies: stakeholder Information strategy, stakeholder response strategy and stakeholder
involvement strategy. The findings reveal that Kenyan universities are yet to embrace USR
communication and that they are not leveraging their websites in terms of quantity and style of
USR communication. The analysis confirms a general absence of proactive USR
communication. The universities engage their publics through stakeholder information and
response strategies while involvement strategy is used more in the social media. Finally, the
study explains the managerial implications of low USR visibility and makes recommendations
on how to implement USR and improve USR communication on the Web.
