University Social Responsibility through the Plan–Do–Check–Act Framework: A Cross-National Sustainable Development Goals Storytelling Case Study

Authors

https://doi.org/10.22105/masi.vi.108

Abstract

This study investigates how University Social Responsibility (USR) can be aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and cross-national collaboration to translate institutional commitments to social responsibility into community-based educational practice. A cross-national, SDG-oriented English storytelling initiative jointly implemented by Ming Chi University of Technology in Taiwan and Universiti Tenaga Nasional in Malaysia was examined as a single case. The study adopted a retrospective qualitative case-study design, with the Plan–Do–Check–Act (PDCA) cycle applied ex post as a process-oriented analytical framework. Data were drawn from project documentation, workshop materials, storytelling resources, activity records, and outcome statistics. The analysis identified evidence corresponding to the Plan phase, including the establishment of the cross-national partnership, selection of SDG-related themes, and planning of service sites; the Do phase, encompassing participant training, story adaptation, and community-based implementation in Taiwan and Malaysia; and the Check phase, which was reflected primarily in documented outputs such as the number of activities conducted, participant reach, cultural diversity, and breadth of SDG theme coverage. In contrast, documentary evidence related to the Act phase was comparatively limited. The integrated analysis further identified cross-national partnership, pre-service training, and the translation of SDG concepts into accessible storytelling content as key enabling mechanisms. At the same time, community reciprocity, systematic outcome assessment, and the feedback mechanism linking Check to Act emerged as areas requiring further development. Overall, the findings indicate that the PDCA cycle provides a useful process-oriented analytical framework for examining the implementation dynamics of cross-national USR initiatives and for identifying gaps in governance, assessment, and continuous improvement.

Keywords:

University social responsibility, Sustainable development goals, PDCA, Cross-national collaboration, English storytelling

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Published

2026-08-29

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Vol. 3 No. 3 (2026): Management Analytics and Social Insights (MASI)

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How to Cite

Li, C.-L., Ali, Z., & Chen, S.-C. (2026). University Social Responsibility through the Plan–Do–Check–Act Framework: A Cross-National Sustainable Development Goals Storytelling Case Study. Management Analytics and Social Insights, 3(3). https://doi.org/10.22105/masi.vi.108

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