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Students’ Perceptions of Sustainable Universities in Hungary: An Importance-Performance Analysis

Author

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  • Szabolcs Nagy

    (University of Miskolc, Miskolc, Hungary)

  • Mariann Veresne Somosi

    (University of Miskolc, Miskolc, Hungary)

Abstract

In order to succeed, universities are forced to respond to the new challenges in the rapidly changing world. The recently emerging fourth-generation universities should meet sustainability objectives to better serve their students and their communities. It is essential for universities to measure their sustainability performance to capitalise on their core strengths and to overcome their weaknesses. In line with the stakeholder theory, the objective of this study was to investigate students’ perceptions of university sustainability including their expectations about and satisfaction with the efforts that universities make towards sustainability. This paper proposes a new approach that combines the sustainable university scale, developed by the authors, with the importance-performance analysis to identify key areas of university sustainability. To collect data, an online survey was conducted in Hungary in 2019. The sustainable university scale was found to be a reliable construct to measure different aspects of university sustainability. Results of the importance-performance analysis suggest that students consider Hungarian universities unsustainable. Research findings indicate that Hungarian universities perform poorly in sustainable purchasing and renewable energy use, but their location and their efforts towards separate waste collection are their major competitive advantages. The main domains of university sustainability were also discussed. This study provides university decision-makers and researchers with insightful results supporting the transformation of traditional universities into sustainable, fourth-generation higher education institutions.

Suggested Citation

  • Szabolcs Nagy & Mariann Veresne Somosi, 2020. "Students’ Perceptions of Sustainable Universities in Hungary: An Importance-Performance Analysis," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 22(54), pages 496-496, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:aes:amfeco:v:22:y:2020:i:54:p:496
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Nada K. Kakabadse & Cecile Rozuel & Linda Lee-Davies, 2005. "Corporate social responsibility and stakeholder approach: a conceptual review," International Journal of Business Governance and Ethics, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 1(4), pages 277-302.
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    4. Wakkee, Ingrid & van der Sijde, Peter & Vaupell, Christiaan & Ghuman, Karminder, 2019. "The university's role in sustainable development: Activating entrepreneurial scholars as agents of change," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 195-205.
    5. Emerson Wagner Mainardes & Helena Alves & Mario Raposo, 2010. "An Exploratory Research on the Stakeholders of a University," Journal of Management and Strategy, Journal of Management and Strategy, Sciedu Press, vol. 1(1), pages 76-88, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Chien-Hung Wu & Pei-Ling Kuo & Ching-Hsu Yang & Yun-Chen Chang & Tung-Liang Chen, 2023. "Importance–Performance Analysis (IPA) in Analyzing the Satisfaction of Administrative Support in Teaching Practice Research Programs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-14, January.
    2. Cristina Veres & Maria Tănase & Ioan Bogdan Bacos & Mihaela Kardos, 2025. "Sustainable Universities: A Bibliometric and Thematic Analysis in Higher Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-19, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    sustainable university; students’ perception; importance-performance analysis; Hungary; student satisfaction; student expectation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth

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