Stakeholders’ perceptions of sustainable development of higher education institutions: an intellectual capital approach

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to identify stakeholders’ perceptions of the effects associated with different components of intellectual capital (IC) on the sustainable development (SD) practices of higher education institutions (HEIs). Design/methodology/approach The empirical approach uses a structural equation model to provide new empirical findings in relation to 738 students and 587 lecturers/researchers at seven Portuguese state HEIs through quantitative research. Findings The results obtained are, firstly, important contributions to the literature on the IC and SD practices of HEIs, as a relationship between these two constructs is confirmed, especially through relational capital (RC) and structural capital (SC). Secondly, the stakeholders considered show different perceptions of the influence of the components of HEIs’ IC on these institutions’ SD practices, and thirdly, perception of the economic dimension is most influenced. Practical implications The empirical findings indicate the need to provide better information about HEIs’ policies and practices of SD and how the latter contribute to the SD of the institution and its region of influence. Originality/value No previous studies investigate students and teachers/researchers’ perceptions of the social, environmental, economic and organizational dimensions of SD in HEIs and at the same time how those perceptions can be influenced by the components of IC (e.g. human capital, SC, RC) in that institution.

Educar para el desarrollo sostenible en el contexto universitario: un análisis bibliométrico

“…De esta forma, se identificaron un total de 322 artículos concentrados en el periodo comprendido entre 1970 y 2019. El aumento de la literatura científica relativa a esta disciplina y su impacto en la Educación Superior durante los últimos años, puede explicarse por el interés que ha suscitado entre la comunidad científica, como respuesta a la problemática ambiental envolvente y la responsabilidad a asumir desde la formación universitaria (Álvarez-Lires et al, 2017;De Matos et al, 2020).…”

“…Durante las últimas décadas, ha sido creciente el interés de la comunidad científica en la revisión de las bases conceptuales de la Educación para el Desarrollo Sostenible, siendo profusas las investigaciones que centran su mirada en valorar los efectos de su implementación en el colectivo estudiantil y el profesorado de todas las etapas educativas, incluida la universitaria (Antúnez y Gomera, 2017;De Matos et al, 2020;Mulá et al, 2017;Purcell et al, 2019). De la misma forma, en la literatura científica se han encontrado publicaciones que analizan, desde una perspectiva bibliométrica, el número de investigaciones recientes relacionadas con esta disciplina en los contextos educativos (Medina y Páramo, 2014;Wright y Liang, 2019), si bien se ha podido observar que son escasos los estudios en los que se analice la producción científica de una educación vinculada con el paradigma de la sostenibilidad en el contexto universitario.…”

The Perceived Effect of Intellectual Capital on the Performance of a Higher Education Institution: A Case Study

“…IC research is currently expanding its vision and is thus heading into its fifth phase (Bisogno et al, 2018), which is concerned with how higher education institutions, as stakeholders in a broader ecosystem, can help solve social problems (Secundo et al, 2018). Therefore, measuring and monitoring HEIs' IC is a crucial task which can positively impact society (Pedro, 2020).…”

Top business schools legitimacy quest through the Sustainable Development Goals

“…A good and trustful CSR's communication strategy plays a critical role for corporate stakeholders' legitimacy achievement ( Du and Vieira, 2012 ). Specifically, in the competitive business school environment, main stakeholders, such as students, faculty members and business community ask for more information about CSR practices and responsible management education ( Pedro et al., 2020 ).…”