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The intellectual structure of the literature on sustainability leadership in higher education: an author co-citation analysis

Pwint Nee Aung (Center for Research on Sustainable Leadership, College of Management, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand)
Philip Hallinger (Center for Research on Sustainable Leadership, College of Management, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand) (Department of Educational Leadership and Management, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa)

International Journal of Educational Management

ISSN: 0951-354X

Article publication date: 18 May 2022

Issue publication date: 3 June 2022

679

Abstract

Purpose

This review aims to identify the intellectual structure or key theoretical themes that comprise the emerging field of sustainability leadership in higher education.

Design/methodology/approach

The Scopus index was used to identify 180 documents published sustainable leadership in higher education published between 1998 and 2021. Author co-citation analysis in VOSviewer software was used to address the research question driving this inquiry.

Findings

This review found that the intellectual structure of scholarship on sustainability leadership in higher education is composed of four dominant “schools of thought”. These included sustainability leadership, managing campus greening, managing change and system integration, and education for sustainable development.

Research limitations/implications

The findings suggest a need for more theorizing and empirical studies that explore the nature and effects of sustainability leadership in higher education. Particular attention should be given to how features of universities as organizations shape the requirements for and constraints on leadership. From a practical perspective, the findings highlight key domains of policy and practice that higher education leaders can target in efforts to enhance sustainability in their universities and societies.

Originality/value

The bibliometric review offers empirically-based insights into the evolution and current status of the literature on sustainability leadership in higher education. The findings can be used as a benchmark against which future developments in this knowledge base can be assessed.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Funding: This study has been funded by the ASEAN Centre for Sustainable Development Studies and Dialogue (ACSDSD), College of Management, Mahidol University.

Citation

Aung, P.N. and Hallinger, P. (2022), "The intellectual structure of the literature on sustainability leadership in higher education: an author co-citation analysis", International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 36 No. 5, pp. 784-799. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEM-09-2021-0371

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited

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