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Sustainability in higher education has gained the attention of researchers and academia; however, there is still a need to explore and assess it from different perspectives that are unexplored. This study aims to evaluate and report sustainability and sustainable development in the higher education sector of Pakistan.

There are 195 recognized and registered degree awarding institutes in Pakistan. A survey-based study was designed using self-administered questionnaires distributed among the deans of 145 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) using a simple random sampling technique. Responses were recorded using five-point Likert scale. In this study, 74 HEIs participated while 69 responses were complete in all respects and used for data analysis. Responses were recorded and analyzed using descriptive statistics.

The results show little evidence of sustainability in all areas of HEIs (including; curriculum, research, faculty, stakeholder’s engagement and governance). Sustainability of campus (operations) was evident and, to a certain extent, apparent in outreach activities. The core objective of HEIs is teaching and research, however, HEIs in Pakistan have yet to accommodate sustainability in these core areas. Sustainability in HEIs of Pakistan is in the preliminary and the introductory stage. For the attainment of sustainability in HEIs, comprehensive planning and internal governance are required.

This study was based on a survey to report the overall situation of sustainability in Pakistan’s HEIs. Therefore, it has the limitation of being a descriptive study. Nevertheless, this study contributed to the body of knowledge by reporting sustainability practices from the Pakistani context. This study helped identify critical aspects of sustainability that require the attention of both regulatory authority and top management.

This is a comprehensive study based on extensive research survey techniques to present and report sustainability in higher education in Pakistan. The data collected represents the major HEIs in Pakistan and has contributed to the body of knowledge by presenting the contemporary and contextual situation of sustainability in HEIs of Pakistan.

The integration of sustainability is more matured in the corporate sector. However, the topic received less attention in higher education institutions (HEIs). Therefore, this study aims to conceptualize an integration framework and proposes sustainability integration and implementation index in the HEIs.

The index was developed from previous literature. For the implementation of the index, three universities were selected. The required data collected from websites, internal documents and interviews with the high officials of these universities.

Sample universities have somehow inclination toward the broad agenda of sustainable development, but still, they lack integration, implementation and reporting of their sustainable practices. Moreover, the departments have positive and practical intent toward sustainability especially regarding the environment, designing curriculum, teaching, research activities and volunteerism. However, in assessment, the social and economic contributions of these universities revealed to be somewhat mild. The findings also evidenced heterogeneity among the sample institutions to follow the said agenda which reflects a lack of awareness and policy or a centralized or regulatory push from the top.

The study is limited to three universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Hence, in the future, the framework and index may be tested in other universities of the country or region. Nevertheless, the study carries theoretical significance in the literature of sustainability.

The study has practical implications for academia, regulatory bodies and universities to integrate, implement and report sustainability in HEIs.

The study proposes and validates the sustainability integration and implementation index in HEIs. The index is unique and has originality or value particularly for HEIs of the developing countries.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of transformational leadership and employee empowerment on employee performance and organizational commitment through the mediational role of behavioral integrity (BI).

Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire based on measurement of variables adopted from earlier studies. A total of 532 usable responses were collected through officer grade and executive level employees of selected banks from the Multan district, Pakistan. Confirmatory factor analysis was run using AMOS 23.0 whereas PROCESS macro in SPSS 23.0 was used for path analysis.

The study results revealed that transformational leadership and employee empowerment positively affect employee performance and organizational commitment through the mediational effect of BI.

The role of BI in enhancing employees’ performance and organizational commitment has been overlooked in the extant literature. Especially, in the emerging economies, where there is growing employer–employee trust deficit, this investigation brings in useful contribution.

The study aims to attain insights into the role of destructive leadership and perceived organizational politics as catalysts for employee disengagement through the perspective of social identity theory. The research further considers employees’ defensive cognitions for a comprehensive understanding of these interrelated phenomena in the workplace.

In order to ascertain the pertinence and contextual relevance of the proposed framework, literary review was complemented by a survey-based study encompassing 114 full-time employees purposively selected from the six systemically important banks of Pakistan.

The findings accentuate the significance of destructive leadership in inducing withdrawal behaviours among employees directly and indirectly through continuance commitment. The results also underline perceptions of politics as a significant work environment impediment amplifying employees’ propensity to undergo psychological withdrawal.

The study contributes to strategic human resource management literature by offering an identity-based explanation for employees’ disengagement, considering Pakistan’s power-distant and collectivist orientation. The research further introduces an empirical novelty by postulating a total effect moderation model.