Can Citizens’ Perceived Values Shape a Responsive Society?

Citizens’ perceived values have been considered decisive for building a responsive society by serving as the driving force behind social and political attitudes and behaviors. These values are shaped by various factors such as cultural, historical, and personal experiences, and trace the way individuals perceive and respond to societal matters. Their observation is found crucial for gaining a deeper comprehension of the public view on social, economic and ecological elements necessary for achieving sustainable societies. Thus, the study aims at identifying perceived values as indicators of citizens’ potential involvement in society, in the sense of contributing to work, as a manner for getting closer to a responsible, engaged and sustainable society. For this purpose, a sample of 1.012 cases available in the European Value Survey / World Value Survey dataset was analyzed for the Republic of Macedonia. An exploratory factor analysis confirmed twelve factors used to describe four clusters among Macedonian citizens. Then, a SHAP feature importance method was used to digest the factors’ relationships. The results indicate that perceptions of gender stereotypes, trust in people, civil rights and job equality reinforce the idea of social responsibility the most. The findings provide valuable avenues for promoting individual accountability by raising awareness regarding specific actions of increased participation and responsibility in societal actions, which, in turn, can result in increased citizens’ advocacy, leading to greater policy changes