Stakeholders’ perception of sustainability orientation within a major Romanian University

Abstract

Purpose The research attempts to aim to evaluate the perception that different stakeholder groups have of one of the largest and most important Romanian university with respect to its sustainability orientation. The exploratory empirical research reveals some important aspects which must be closely pursued and properly implemented by the management of the university to further develop sustainability strategies. The paper offers a novel approach regarding the way a university can and must focus on different specific measures on sustainability to gain a better position on the educational market, to attract new students and lifelong learning (LLL) programme participants, as well as to become a trend setter for defining and transferring good practices within the society. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected by questionnaires and in-depth-interview guides which were distributed to different stakeholder groups: bachelor (undergraduate) and master’s students versus LLL programme participants coming from different high schools across the country enrolled on a training course organized by the university and high school principals versus staff members of the university holding coordination and/or management positions. The collected data were then analyzed by means of econometric analysis. Data validity, reliability and internal consistency were checked (Cronbach’s α coefficient, “item-to-total” correlation, the KMO criterion (>0.7) and Bartlett’s test of sphericity). With the help of exploratory factor analysis, the way in which different stakeholders value and perceive the specific measures and efforts undertaken by the university has been extracted. Findings Students, LLL participants and members of the university staff perceived the university’s positive orientation towards sustainability and the measures taken in this respect. All stakeholders expressed highly favourable opinions of the university’s dealings with different sustainability aspects, such as its attitude towards its employees, its performance within the higher education market and its establishment of an attractive and innovative educational programme, in compliance with sustainability principles, environmental protection and modern attitudes towards society. Research limitations/implications The research has been conducted on a sample of students of bachelor and master level, belonging to the biggest faculty of the university (as to number of students and staff). In a more comprising study, the focus should also be on bachelor, master and PhD students of the other faculties of the university, as well as on citizens of the community or in general on people from Transylvania and/or Romania. The university under investigation is one of the most important employers of the region. Further dimensions of sustainable development could also be pursued in a future study. Social implications The university shows an orientation towards civil society by means of specific actions and programs. The university supports and takes part in the organization of cultural and artistic events in cooperation with local authorities and other cultural and/or social institutions and organizations. Respondents also refer to some examples of best practices that might be applied by education institutions to educate young people towards developing a proper sustainable mentality. Originality/value There exist almost no comparative empirical studies of sustainability on Romanian universities that take account of the perspectives of students, LLL participants and staff members. The findings have a high potential in developing a proper strategy for the university involved but could also be used by the government if designing a national wide policy regarding this issue. Different authors argue that young people are more conscious about sustainability, organic stuff, environmental protection, green marketing, etc. Taking into consideration the sensitivity of young peoples (students, staff members, etc.), as well as the fact that the university establishes social trends, the idea of studying sustainability in a university could be regarded as a novelty approach.

Online Academic Networks as Knowledge Brokers: The Mediating Role of Organizational Support

“…As sheer institutionalized relationships often lack flexibility and rapid adjustments, more dynamic social aggregations have sprung to support trans-organizational knowledge renewal by means of inter-organizational learning, good practices and access to the work of reputed scholars in different fields [5]. Built on the foundations of the digital era and of the network society [6][7][8][9][10][11][12] with a view to support the transformation of adaptive to generative learning [13][14][15], online academic networks have set the scene for new patterns of knowledge access, exchange, transfer, diffusion, discovery and so forth. Progressively, under the aegis of the Internet which "facilitates circulation of knowledge" and reframes collaboration among peers [16], online academic networks emerged as knowledge brokers for various categories of stakeholders, putting up a stronger rationale in terms of knowledge sharing.…”

Education for sustainable development

“…"The present structure of the teacher training system can be described as a good practice example concerning higher education professional development or as an alternative that is worthy to be taken into consideration for other countries with similar educational systems or by countries/universities that believe that pedagogical training addressing ESD should be completed early in one's teaching career" [41]. "Stakeholders expressed highly favourable opinions of the university's dealings with different sustainability aspects … its establishment of an attractive and innovative educational programme, in compliance with sustainability principles, environmental protection and modern attitudes towards society" [42] "The efforts still required to be made are significant, since it is observed that all undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD require a change of attitude and mentality" [40]. "The present Romanian teacher training curriculum does not nurture ESD competencies, and it does not have this purpose at all" [41].…”

The Role of Universities in Consolidating Intellectual Capital and Generating New Knowledge for a Sustainable Bio-Economy

“…Nowadays, the fundamental task of universities is to generate knowledge through education, development of research and interaction (Deaconu and Nistor, 2017) with the local economic and social environment, and to transfer it to the industry (Urdari, Farcas and Tiron-Tudor, 2017). In this way, universities, alongside other local and regional players contribute to regional economic development (Dabija et al, 2017).…”

“… Sustainability -In the last decades, we have witnessed at the development of the sustainability concept encompassing the development and creation of an organisation's longterm value basing on innovation as well as intellectual and relation capital. In this context, public institutions have increasingly embraced the sustainable development discourse (Dabija et al, 2017) thus becoming dynamically involved in developing public policies that encourage social responsibility and accountability. According to prior evidence, more socially responsible universities have a higher web-disclosure index (Bisogno et al, 2014), which led us to the assumption that sustainability is also a potential explanatory factor able to influence the level of the IC disclosure positively.…”