Purpose As few studies have explored the causal relationship between both the triple bottom line (TBL) of sustainability and the lean practices in higher education institutions (HEIs), the purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationships between lean practices and sustainable practices in Brazilian HEIs. Design/methodology/approach A survey was conducted with 454 public and private HEIs workers in Brazil. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equations modeling were used for data analysis. Findings The results support the hypotheses of the study that HEI lean practices are positively related to environmental, economic and social practices in HEIs. Practical implications HEI managers must evaluate the use of lean practices in the organizational processes, to identify their weaknesses and to improve the aspects that influence a balanced TBL of sustainability practices. Social implications The findings highlight the importance of leadership as a support for the workers, as a continuous improvement practice on a daily basis and a focus on the student as a basic principle of HEI success. Originality/value This article provides new measurement and structural models to analyze Lean thinking practices as the predictors of sustainability practices. The work could assist any HEI in prioritizing its strategies and actions and to contribute to excellence in decision-making. This study could contribute as a source of empirical data for transferability in other contexts for HEIs.

A Sustainable Competitive Advantage emerges as an important factor in the perception of value of goods and services, which should be considered as elements of competitive differentiation. This study aims at identifying the relationship between sustainable competitive advantage and organizational performance, as well as measuring the relationship of environmental sustainability and social responsibility as attributes of sustainable competitive advantage. In order to achieve that, a survey was carried out in 1496 different size companies and activity sectors in Brazil. For the data analysis and interpretation we used a structural equation modeling technique. The results indicate that the Sustainable Competitive Advantage construct is an important antecedent of organizational performance because it highlights fundamental attributes for organizations to achieve positive economic consequences. This research contributes to organizational management and to the scientific community with the provision of a framework that assists in the identification of relevant strategic resource features.

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Considering the socio-economic reality of Brazil and from the relevance of the issues related to entrepreneurship and organizational innovation in the country, the importance of sustainability for the organizations could become a solution for the integration of entrepreneurship with innovation. The objective of this research is to highlight the relevance of sustainability for organizations as a way to trigger the integration of entrepreneurship toward innovation in the Brazilian context. Various exploratory and descriptive researches on the dynamics of entrepreneurship, innovation and sustainability in the main organizations of the Serra Gaúcha (RS), Brazil were carried out through the Multidisciplinary Research Group on Innovation and Competitiveness, in partnership with a research Nucleus on Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Sustainability. The main results indicate that the key sectors of this Brazilian regional economy present less "innovation intensity," which are mainly characterized by internal organizational activities of innovation, preventing them to become "regional systems of innovation," and which presupposes the lack of sustainability. Those limitations can be characterized as "innovation ghettos." In that logic, the researchers have also demonstrated the presence of "ghettos of sustainability, ghettos of innovation, and therefore, ghettos of sustainability

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