Florian Findler, Norma Schönherr, Rodrigo Lozano, Daniela Reider and André Martinuzzi
This paper aims to conceptualize impacts of higher education institutions (HEIs) on sustainable development (SD), complementing previous literature reviews by broadening the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to conceptualize impacts of higher education institutions (HEIs) on sustainable development (SD), complementing previous literature reviews by broadening the perspective from what HEIs do in pursuit of SD to how these activities impact society, the environment and the economy.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper provides a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2005 and 2017. Inductive content analysis was applied to identify major themes and impact areas addressed in the literature to develop a conceptual framework detailing the relationship between HEIs’ activities and their impacts on SD.
Findings
The paper identifies six impact areas where direct and indirect impacts of HEIs on SD may occur. The findings indicate a strong focus on case studies dealing with specific projects and a lack of studies analyzing impacts from a more holistic perspective.
Practical implications
This systematic literature review enables decision-makers in HEIs, researchers and educators to better understand how their activities may affect society, the environment and the economy, and it provides a solid foundation to tackle these impacts.
Social implications
The review highlights that HEIs have an inherent responsibility to make societies more sustainable. HEIs must embed SD into their systems while considering their impacts on society.
Originality/value
This paper provides a holistic conceptualization of HEIs’ impacts on SD. The conceptual framework can be useful for future research that attempts to analyze HEIs’ impacts on SD from a holistic perspective.
Details
Keywords
Lina María Castro Benavides, Johnny Alexander Tamayo Arias, Daniel Burgos and Alke Martens
This study aims to validate the content of an instrument which identifies the organizational, sociocultural and technological characteristics that foster digital transformation…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to validate the content of an instrument which identifies the organizational, sociocultural and technological characteristics that foster digital transformation (DT) in higher education institutions (HEIs) through the Delphi method.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology is quantitative, non-experimental, and descriptive in scope. First, expert judges were selected; Second, Aiken's V coefficients were obtained. Nine experts were considered for the validation.
Findings
This study’s findings show that the instrument has content validity and there was strong consensus among the judges. The instrument consists of 29 questions; 13 items adjusted and 2 merged.
Originality/value
A novel instrument for measuring the DT at HEIs was designed and has content validity, evidenced by Aiken's V coefficients of 0.91 with a 0.05 significance, and consensus among judges evidenced by consensus coefficient of 0.81.