Faculties of agriculture and natural resources, as drivers of development, play a vital role in responding to social and environmental challenges. However, the existing literature on the governance of social responsibility in these institutions often lacks a systemic and causal analysis of the relationships among key drivers. This research, with the aim of designing a causal architecture for the governance of social responsibility in the context of Iranian agricultural higher education, identifies and analyzes the structural relationships among 44 key drivers. In this regard, the Fuzzy DEMATEL method was used to model the relationships. The expert panel included 27 faculty members from the University of Tehran with over 10 years of experience, who were selected purposefully. The results showed that structural and managerial dimension factors, such as "leadership commitment" and "formal strategic document", act as root drivers and fundamental causes, having a direct influence on other dimensions. In contrast, components such as "green university development," "farmer empowerment," and "problem-oriented research" were identified as final outcomes and effects. These findings indicate that tangible social responsibility results are a direct product of managerial and institutional infrastructures. The present study, by providing a causal architecture model, creates new insight into the knowledge of social responsibility governance in academia and suggests that to achieve sustainable transformation, the focus should shift from ad-hoc actions towards structural reforms and fundamental policymaking. This model provides a practical and evidence-based guide for formulating social responsibility strategies in the agricultural higher education system.
Amiri, R. , Alambeigi, A. , Rezaei, A. , Hosesini, S. M. and Keshavarz, M. (2025). Causal Architecture of Social Responsibility Governance in Agricultural and Natural Resources Science Higher Education. Natural Resources Governance, 2(4), 366-379. doi: 10.22059/jnrg.2025.405533.1065
MLA
Amiri, R. , , Alambeigi, A. , , Rezaei, A. , , Hosesini, S. M. , and Keshavarz, M. . "Causal Architecture of Social Responsibility Governance in Agricultural and Natural Resources Science Higher Education", Natural Resources Governance, 2, 4, 2025, 366-379. doi: 10.22059/jnrg.2025.405533.1065
HARVARD
Amiri, R., Alambeigi, A., Rezaei, A., Hosesini, S. M., Keshavarz, M. (2025). 'Causal Architecture of Social Responsibility Governance in Agricultural and Natural Resources Science Higher Education', Natural Resources Governance, 2(4), pp. 366-379. doi: 10.22059/jnrg.2025.405533.1065
CHICAGO
R. Amiri , A. Alambeigi , A. Rezaei , S. M. Hosesini and M. Keshavarz, "Causal Architecture of Social Responsibility Governance in Agricultural and Natural Resources Science Higher Education," Natural Resources Governance, 2 4 (2025): 366-379, doi: 10.22059/jnrg.2025.405533.1065
VANCOUVER
Amiri, R., Alambeigi, A., Rezaei, A., Hosesini, S. M., Keshavarz, M. Causal Architecture of Social Responsibility Governance in Agricultural and Natural Resources Science Higher Education. Natural Resources Governance, 2025; 2(4): 366-379. doi: 10.22059/jnrg.2025.405533.1065
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