How Does Sustainability Affect Governance in Universities? A Systematic Literature Analysis

Higher education, sustainability, and governance are concepts that share inherent complexity. Consequently, their integration is also intricate, requiring a holistic, systematic, long-term perspective, and it can yield positive effects only when supported by adequate planning, motivated personnel, efficient mechanisms for sharing integration principles, and an organizational culture conducive to transformation. This study used a systematic literature analysis technique and examined 102 articles to explore how sustainability impacts university governance, providing an extensive synthesis of the present understanding of this field. Specifically, this study presents a systematic categorization of previous research, identifies the significant areas that have not been well addressed, highlights potential research directions, and makes suggestions to expand the scope of future research. Furthermore, the results from cluster analysis indicate that universities are undertaking new and intriguing initiatives in the context of Sustainable Development Goals. This demonstrates that sustainability has influenced governance by stimulating university collaborative projects. Overall, there appears to be consensus on the need for a systematic and engaging approach to integrating sustainability into the governance of university institutions. This research provides university administrations with valuable information for making sustainable decisions. Likewise, this study draws researchers' attention to the existing research gap and investigates the findings of earlier studies.