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Purpose This paper aims to highlight a multidimensional model of sustainability practices that are considered meaningful and practical for implementation by higher education institutions (HEIs). Design/methodology/approach The Concept System® Global MAX© software facilitated the bottom-up approach of this study, where 32 staff and students of a private HEI were prompted with the question, “What design features or facilities should the university building have for you to consider the building sustainable?” Their opinions were collected as statements via online brainstorming and the process was followed through with the sorting and rating of reduced statements. The software was also used to perform multi-dimensional scaling and cluster analysis to generate the findings of this study. Findings An eight-cluster solution was proposed based on the themes within respective clusters. Respondents rated the importance of sustainability resource usage and sustainability and technology highly. Whilst sustainable campus facilities appeal to students, education for sustainable development were more important to staff. Originality/value The community-based participatory research recommends activities that enhance the adoption of sustainable development in making universities a “living lab” for sustainability.

has affected the pursuit of sustainable development in multifaceted ways; this study investigates Malaysian Gen Z perceptions of the COVID-19 pandemics' disruptions to sustainable development. The exploratory research began with brainstorming from Malaysian Gen Z individuals with the following excerpt, 'The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the world and led to unprecedented change. How do you believe this has impacted either positively or negatively, the global pursuit of sustainable development?' Ninety-eight unique statements were generated with subsequent participants sorting these statements into thematic groups before rating each of them on impact and duration. Subsequently, multi-dimensional scaling and cluster analysis was performed with eight-cluster solution being proposed. This study suggests that the pandemic has contributed both positively and negatively to sustainable development, while also highlighting the duration of these impacts. This community-based participatory research provides a guide for policy to mitigate negative impacts whilst also attempting to fully realise the positive impacts in response to managing the unprecedented effects of the pandemic.

This article reports a longitudinal analysis of corporate social responsibility (CSR) keywords drawing on an extensive sample of 144 CSR definitions across seven decades. There are clear differences in the keywords used in various time periods to describe the person or entity providing CSR, the CSR activity provided, and the intended recipients or targets of any CSR activities. There has been a trend away from individuals such as managers or specific groups such as employees being identified as providers or recipients of CSR towards keywords describing CSR as an organizational responsibility that is provided to large and inclusive groups such as communities or abstract entities such as stakeholders or the environment. Since the millennium, there has been considerable convergence in CSR keywords that appears to be driven by the availability of CSR information via the internet. The changes in CSR keywords appear to parallel changes in societal expectations, regulation and legislation, and the wider business environment. This suggests that corporations deploy CSR defensively to express alignment with prevailing public priorities, stress compliance with government directives and emphasise conformity with corporate contemporaries. The implications of these findings are discussed and possible lines for future research are proposed.

This explores what responsible business practice within the context of Malaysia, an Eastern collective society, diverging from the Western individualistic society where most Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) research originates. A bottom‐up approach was adopted, incorporating different stakeholder perspectives of a case‐study firm, widely acknowledged for its CSR programs. Concept mapping method was selected because it is a structural conceptualization method designed to organize and represent ideas from an identified group adding structure to disorganized and subjective ideas. By using concept mapping all the various perspectives and ideas were brought together to create a single conceptualization. The findings from the concept mapping present 101 statements which produced seven clusters; Products & Services, Community Oriented, Stakeholder & Business Value, Employee Oriented, Legal & Ethical Responsibilities, Environmental & Social Oriented, and Philanthropic Oriented. These clusters covered the whole conceptual domain of Corporate Citizenship and demonstrated multiple CSR theories, including corporate sustainability, stakeholder concept, and shared value, were apparent, while also uncovering some unique aspects from the normative stakeholder perspective. The implications of this study suggest that while some aspects of globally institutionalized CSR are generically accepted, there are contextually specific aspects which need to be considered as these may contradict or conflict with the “global” standards.