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This study aims to investigate differences and similarities in the approach to understanding university social responsibility (USR) among the academic and university administrative staff.

The quantitative research was conducted on a group of 1,160 respondents from the chosen university. The survey contributes to the discussion about the needs and expectations regarding USR. The data were subjected to reliability verification and statistically tested.

The study revealed that academic and university administrative staff pay attention to different aspects of USR. The differences appear in expectations of the senior and junior academic staff and when scientific disciplines are taken into consideration. It may suggest that not only the level of research performance but also the structure of academic staff can be a driver for corporate social responsibility benefits.

Research results can be helpful for proper designing of socially responsible activities regarding different groups of employees and enable a better understanding of the needs of employees regarding the creation of socially responsible activities at the university.

This study contributes to the literature by presenting the academic and university administrative staff’s attitude towards USR, giving better insights into their expectations and needs. Research findings contribute to the more grounded discussion on the topic and can be used by organizations to set goals and priorities for USR.

The paper is devoted to cross‐sector collaborative bonds appearing in Poland in the last years. The general purpose of the paper is to draw a picture of existing collaboration between NGOs and business organizations in Poland. Particularly, its purpose is to research the conditions and characteristics in which Polish profit and non‐profit organizations establish the collaborative bonds.

First, the paper introduces short description of social economy in Poland, presents corporate social responsibility as a possible framework for cross‐sector collaboration and shortly introduces different theoretical frameworks of inter‐organisational collaboration. It is of descriptive type and is only the first step to explore more deeply (in an analytical way) the area of collaboration. The reason is that this paper is the first of its kind in Poland.

The paper is conducted in 2008. The questionnaire available online is used. The invitation to participate in the research is sent directly by e‐mail to 830 organizations from the whole country (the level of feedback: 21.2 per cent). Thanks to the research, it is possible to draw a broad picture of NGOs – business cross‐sector collaboration.

The survey results allow an understanding of the nature of collaboration between two sectors may be helpful to other scientific researchers and to leaders of business and non‐governmental organizations to establish long‐lasting mutually beneficial relationships. This paper itself is the first step to trace and understand processes that arise in the area of collaboration between profit and non‐profit organizations in Poland.

This paper is the first of its kind in Poland and has to be descriptive and exploratory to allow future analysis and conceptualizations. Though there are many exhaustive research on the third sector in Poland, there is a lack of research where the collaboration with business partners is explored.