From being entities for knowledge creation and dissemination, universities are now asked to play an increasingly entrepreneurial role, involving networking and collaboration, as well as sustainability and social engagement. This consideration is in line with the fourth-stage intellectual capital perspective, which focuses on knowledge creation with an ecosystem focus. But which are the main approaches to manage and evaluate this new role? Can intellectual capital contribute to this evaluation process? The paper aims to answer these research questions by systematizing the theoretical contributions on this topic; it is based on the following steps: First, a brief historical overview of the evolution of the role of universities; secondly, a literature review on university’s third mission and its relationship with intellectual capital; finally, an analysis of the different approaches for evaluating this mission. Despite the academic and institutional efforts, there is little agreement on a set of indicators to evaluate quality in university’s third mission activities. In Italy, an “intellectual capital maturity model” (ICMM) has been built, but it needs further applications and evaluations.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the strategic model of distance learning adopted by Italian higher education, showing how the health emergency due to Covid-19 has transformed it from an “optional” for traditional universities to the only means to ensure public health protection and continuity in education programs. Comparing two situations (before and during the pandemic), the aim is to identify best practices that, even after the end of the emergency, can be adopted by Italian higher education institutions to boost their digital supply and compete in an international context. After a general context analysis, aimed to underline benefits and risks connected to the development of distance learning, the case of the Italian higher education system has been analyzed. Data were collected through a documentary analysis, looking at what Italian higher education institutions disclosed through their official websites and documents: every form of communication about digital strategy was taken into account. Then, they were analyzed qualitatively, in order to individuate which platforms have been combined to ensure quality in education provided. Research findings demonstrate the resilience of the Italian higher education, able to react and to re-organize itself in only one week: the results of the pandemic may be a stronger university, able to combine quality in education with the potential of technological devices and to compete at the international level. Distance learning represents a complex field, still characterized by separated understandings and in a context where limited attention has been dedicated to its development for what concerns the Italian context, the choice to examine it represents the originality of this paper.

Purpose This study aims, first of all, to analyze the extent to which Italian higher education institutions declare their mission statements in their official documents; then, to examine their content; and finally, to investigate whether mission statements include considerations on sustainability dimensions. Design/methodology/approach After a theoretical background on the new strategic approach adopted by higher education institutions and the related disclosure of their mission statements, the study deepens their sustainable perspective presenting the concepts of social engagement and knowledge transfer from a literary point of view. Then, a documentary analysis on the content of Italian universities’ official mission declarations will be conducted, to understand the role they play in society, by individuating their actual interest in sustainable dimensions. Findings Findings suggest that 36% of the 98 Italian universities state their engagement in societal issues, but only 3 of them mention sustainability targets in their mission declarations. Research limitations/implications The study is limited, exclusively based on what higher education institutions share and, in terms of future perspective, the aim can be to investigate further official documents, especially for what concerns sustainability reports. Practical implications Practical implications regard the denounce of weak attention paid by Italian universities to sustainability, with the aim to foster them to increase connections with the external world, aware of the centrality of their role within society. Originality/value In a context that is not yet completely investigated, the originality of the paper regards the intent to study the sustainable propensity that characterizes the Italian higher education system.

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Abstract. Sustainable development is a global objective to overcome the economic, environment and society crises worldwide. The research aims are twofold: (i) Explores