Unveiling the role of higher education institutions in regional sustainability transitions

A systematic literature review and research agenda

Bibliographic Data

ID12950486
AuthorsInes Hinterleitner (0000-0003-3199-9972, BOKU University, corresponding author), Gesa Pflitsch (0000-0002-5762-4899, BOKU University), Marianne Penker (0000-0002-5185-9558, BOKU University), Sabine Sedlacek (0000-0001-5929-2229, MODUL University Vienna), Verena Radinger-Peer (0000-0001-6030-3300, BOKU University)
Year2025
Volume21
Issue1
Pages381-400
Publication date2025-09-04
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSustainability Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1862-4057 • E-ISSN: 1862-4065
PublisherSpringer Science+Business Media (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1007/s11625-025-01736-1
PMID41573232
OpenAlexW4413976934
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited79

Due to pressing sustainability challenges, our society is in urgent need for innovations and new knowledge. Higher education institutions (HEIs) as institutions of education and knowledge production are attributed a leading role in the sustainability endeavor. In recent years, the topic of the contributions of HEIs to regional sustainability transitions (RST) has received increasing attention, resulting in rising numbers of literature published. However, due to its position at the interface of different research fields, the knowledge on the role of HEIs in RST is heterogeneous and scattered. This paper provides a systematic review of the literature on HEIs' role in RST from 2007 onwards. The purpose of the paper is to identify how this role is conceptualized and empirically investigated and to understand better which challenges HEIs are facing and what kinds of drivers enable them to take over this role. The results are aligned along with role characteristics (actors, activities, drivers, challenges, and impacts), which provide in-depth insights into how this role is conceptualized. The authors deduced one role of HEIs in RST with three dimensions from the existing literature: Sustainable Regional Operations, Community Empowerment, and Regional Sustainability Policy. HEI students, faculty, leadership and management as well as a diverse range of regional actors are engaged in the enactment of this role and its three dimensions through educational, research, and outreach activities. However, these activities are rarely institutionalized and therefore depend on the engagement of individuals and the support of the HEI leadership. Based on these results, the authors propose further avenues of research which have the potential to better characterize the role of HEIs in RST including the perspective of who decides within HEIs on the role and the evolution of this role over time

Biology · Engineering ethics · Environmental ethics · Environmental planning · Geography · Landscape ecology · Nature Conservation · Political science · Regional science · Social sustainability · Sociology · Sustainability · Sustainability science · Sustainable development · Engineering · Higher Education Governance and Development · Sustainability in Higher Education · University-Industry-Government Innovation Models · Ecology

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