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Self-counciousness competence as driver of innovation and environmental commitment in higher education students

Marian Buil Fabregá (Department of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Escola Superior en Ciències Socials i de l’Empresa Tecnocampus, Pompeu Fabra University, Mataro, Spain)
Núria Masferrer (Escola Superior en Ciències Socials i de l’Empresa Tecnocampus, Pompeu Fabra University, Mataró, Spain)
Josep Patau (Escola Superior en Ciències Socials i de l’Empresa Tecnocampus, Pompeu Fabra University, Mataró, Spain)
Albert-P. Miró Pérez (ESERP Business School and Law, Barcelona, Spain)

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education

ISSN: 1467-6370

Article publication date: 19 October 2020

Issue publication date: 11 December 2020

408

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to analyse the relationship between entrepreneurial skills and innovation commitment and entrepreneurial skills and environmental commitment as drivers of awareness on sustainable development of higher education students.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample of 1,318 business and management students out of the 3,535 students of Tecnocampus Pompeu Fabra University in Spain during the 2017-2018 academic year was selected to conduct a survey regarding their entrepreneurial skills and sustainability commitment, resulting in a total number of responses of 515. A structural equation model is proposed to contrast the hypothesis.

Findings

The statistical analysis showed the existence of a positive relation between the entrepreneurial skill of self-consciousness, innovation and environmental commitment to foster sustainability and sustainable development. It is one of the few studies related to the self-conciousness competence of the entrepreneurial skills which found, as a novelty, that the entrepreneurial skill of self-consciousness is the skill with the greater impact on innovation and environmental commitment.

Research limitations/implications

The limitations of the study are that it is based on a sample of students taking entrepreneurship courses at a specific Spanish University that is not representative of all entrepreneurs in all universities.

Practical implications

The research proposes including entrepreneurial skills programmes in higher education and research programmes as a way to assure commitment to innovation and environmental sustainability.

Originality/value

Promoting entrepreneurial skills among higher education students could act as drivers for sustainable development.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the anonymous reviewers for their contributions.

Conflicts of interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Citation

Fabregá, M.B., Masferrer, N., Patau, J. and Miró Pérez, A.-P. (2020), "Self-counciousness competence as driver of innovation and environmental commitment in higher education students", International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 21 No. 7, pp. 1507-1523. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-03-2020-0083

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited

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