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Are business students buying it? A theoretical framework for measuring attitudes toward the legitimacy of environmental sustainability

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  • Tom E. Thomas

Abstract

Environmental sustainability has begun to penetrate the business school curriculum. Whether it ultimately becomes a key component of managerial decision‐making models will depend upon whether it is perceived as legitimate within the context of profit‐making enterprises. This paper draws upon the cognitive psychology and organizational legitimacy literatures to develop a conceptual framework for operationalizing perceived legitimacy. This framework can be used to develop survey instruments and simulations that evaluate the effectiveness of various pedagogical approaches to integrating sustainability into business school curricula. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Tom E. Thomas, 2005. "Are business students buying it? A theoretical framework for measuring attitudes toward the legitimacy of environmental sustainability," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(3), pages 186-197, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:14:y:2005:i:3:p:186-197
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.446
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Eddy Ng & Ronald Burke, 2010. "Predictor of Business Students’ Attitudes Toward Sustainable Business Practices," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 95(4), pages 603-615, September.
    2. Cristina Del-Castillo-Feito & Alicia Blanco-González & Rafael Delgado-Alemany, 2020. "The Relationship between Image, Legitimacy, and Reputation as a Sustainable Strategy: Students’ Versus Professors’ Perceptions in the Higher Education Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-16, February.
    3. Miotto, Giorgia & Del-Castillo-Feito, Cristina & Blanco-González, Alicia, 2020. "Reputation and legitimacy: Key factors for Higher Education Institutions’ sustained competitive advantage," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 342-353.
    4. Annor Silva Junior & Priscilla Oliveira Martins-Silva & Katia Cyrlene Araújo Vasconcelos & Vitor Correa Silva & José Michel Rocha Monteiro & Sarah Luiza Martins Silva Brito & Tássia Calile Souza Santo, 2021. "Sustainability for Brazilian management students: integrity and opportunism," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 1292-1315, February.
    5. del-Castillo-Feito, Cristina & Blanco-González, Alicia & Hernández-Perlines, Felipe, 2022. "The impacts of socially responsible human resources management on organizational legitimacy," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    6. Jariani, Farzaneh, 2021. "The Impact of Governance on Inclusive and Equitable Quality Education (SDG4) in Iran," MPRA Paper 108232, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Muazza Muazza & Akhmad Habibi & Amirul Mukminin, 2023. "The Socially Responsible Human Resources Management and Its Impacts on the Organizational Legitimacy: The Case of Indonesian Employees," Economic Studies journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 3, pages 162-177.
    8. Graf, Erika, 2015. "Raising sustainability awareness and understanding in higher education," Working Paper Series 08, Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Business and Law.
    9. Tom Thomas & Eric Lamm, 2012. "Legitimacy and Organizational Sustainability," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 110(2), pages 191-203, October.
    10. Sukhbir Sandhu & Lucie K. Ozanne & Clive Smallman & Ross Cullen, 2010. "Consumer driven corporate environmentalism: Fact or fiction?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(6), pages 356-366, September.
    11. Shihping Kevin Huang, 2013. "The Impact of CEO Characteristics on Corporate Sustainable Development," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(4), pages 234-244, July.
    12. James Swaim & Michael Maloni & Stuart Napshin & Amy Henley, 2014. "Influences on Student Intention and Behavior Toward Environmental Sustainability," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 124(3), pages 465-484, October.
    13. Nhat Minh Tran, 2022. "CEO and Chairperson Characteristics and Corporate Environmental Performance: A Study of Cooperatives in Vietnam," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(4), pages 21582440221, October.

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