Enhancing the contribution of higher education institutions to sustainable development research: A focus on post‐2015 SDGs

Leal, W ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1241-5225, Eustachio, João Henrique Paulino Pires ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6782-3904, Ávila, Lucas Veiga ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1502-258X, Dinis, Maria Alzira Pimenta ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2198-6740, Hernandez‐Diaz, Paula M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1088-2206, Batista, Karina ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5432-7477, Borsari, Bruno ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9463-333X and Abubakar, Ismaila Rimi ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7994-2302 (2024) Enhancing the contribution of higher education institutions to sustainable development research: A focus on post‐2015 SDGs. Sustainable Development. ISSN 0968-0802

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Abstract

Sustainable development (SD) research is vital in providing a basis for progress in this rapidly growing field of inquiry. In this context, higher education institutions (HEIs) and leading top researchers belonging to them are playing a key role. Despite this being widely acknowledged by the academy, it is largely unclear how individual HEIs, and their researchers contribute to sustainability research efforts. Based on the need to unveil this landscape, our article reports on a study that identified the leading HEIs and researchers involved in sustainability research and how they contribute to moving the field forward. A bibliometric assessment of the literature (performance analysis) was conducted to identify the number of publications of leading authors and institutions. The results reveal some interesting trends. First, the co‐occurrence analysis technique revealed what the top 10 authors in SD are exploring. Also, the study identifies diverse thematic clusters, covering areas like technology, sustainability assessment, integrative education, and corporate practices. The paper advances SD theory by illustrating how these themes interconnect and complement each other. The article concludes with suggestions of how universities may engage further in sustainability research. The theoretical and practical implications of the research, as well as its limitations, are also addressed.