Determinant Factors of SDG Disclosure in the University Context

Universities are expected to have a leading role in the advancement, promotion, and achievement of the 2030 UN Agenda, embedding the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across their four dimensions (teaching, research, campus operations and governance, and community outreach) and in their report...

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Main Authors: Serena De Iorio, Giovanni Zampone, Anna Piccolo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-01-01
Series:Administrative Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/12/1/21
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author Serena De Iorio
Giovanni Zampone
Anna Piccolo
author_facet Serena De Iorio
Giovanni Zampone
Anna Piccolo
author_sort Serena De Iorio
collection DOAJ
description Universities are expected to have a leading role in the advancement, promotion, and achievement of the 2030 UN Agenda, embedding the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across their four dimensions (teaching, research, campus operations and governance, and community outreach) and in their reporting cycles from a whole-institution perspective. In this landscape, academics and practitioners have started to assess universities’ commitment toward the global goals. Nonetheless, research on university SDG disclosure is still in its infancy, being limited to descriptive studies, single case studies, or national contexts. This paper aims to analyse SDG disclosure in the university context from a cross-country perspective. Specifically, it investigates the internal and external factors affecting the universities’ disclosure choices through an OLS regression technique based on multiple and complementary theoretical frameworks (i.e., legitimacy theory, stakeholder theory, and institutional theory). Starting from the Times Higher Education (THE) world university ranking, the sample comprises 844 universities in 81 countries observed over the course of 2021. The empirical findings show a significant and positive impact of the institutional macro-context, university size, age, and diversity on SDG disclosure. The results aim to contribute to the debate by the academic community and policy makers on the universities’ commitment to fostering the awareness, collaboration, measurement, and achievement of SDGs.
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spelling doaj.art-e314f23f3e744bd487437627635ba70b2023-11-30T10:27:09ZengMDPI AGAdministrative Sciences2076-33872022-01-011212110.3390/admsci12010021Determinant Factors of SDG Disclosure in the University ContextSerena De Iorio0Giovanni Zampone1Anna Piccolo2Department of Economics, University of Campania “L. Vanvitelli”, Corso Gran Priorato di Malta, 1, 81043 Capua, ItalyDepartment of Economics, University of Campania “L. Vanvitelli”, Corso Gran Priorato di Malta, 1, 81043 Capua, ItalyDepartment of Economics, University of Campania “L. Vanvitelli”, Corso Gran Priorato di Malta, 1, 81043 Capua, ItalyUniversities are expected to have a leading role in the advancement, promotion, and achievement of the 2030 UN Agenda, embedding the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across their four dimensions (teaching, research, campus operations and governance, and community outreach) and in their reporting cycles from a whole-institution perspective. In this landscape, academics and practitioners have started to assess universities’ commitment toward the global goals. Nonetheless, research on university SDG disclosure is still in its infancy, being limited to descriptive studies, single case studies, or national contexts. This paper aims to analyse SDG disclosure in the university context from a cross-country perspective. Specifically, it investigates the internal and external factors affecting the universities’ disclosure choices through an OLS regression technique based on multiple and complementary theoretical frameworks (i.e., legitimacy theory, stakeholder theory, and institutional theory). Starting from the Times Higher Education (THE) world university ranking, the sample comprises 844 universities in 81 countries observed over the course of 2021. The empirical findings show a significant and positive impact of the institutional macro-context, university size, age, and diversity on SDG disclosure. The results aim to contribute to the debate by the academic community and policy makers on the universities’ commitment to fostering the awareness, collaboration, measurement, and achievement of SDGs.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/12/1/21universitiesSDGsdisclosure
spellingShingle Serena De Iorio
Giovanni Zampone
Anna Piccolo
Determinant Factors of SDG Disclosure in the University Context
Administrative Sciences
universities
SDGs
disclosure
title Determinant Factors of SDG Disclosure in the University Context
title_full Determinant Factors of SDG Disclosure in the University Context
title_fullStr Determinant Factors of SDG Disclosure in the University Context
title_full_unstemmed Determinant Factors of SDG Disclosure in the University Context
title_short Determinant Factors of SDG Disclosure in the University Context
title_sort determinant factors of sdg disclosure in the university context
topic universities
SDGs
disclosure
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/12/1/21
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