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Sustainable Business Management in Higher Education Institutions: A Strategic Roadmap for Addressing Research Gaps and Shaping the Forthcoming Agenda

Author

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  • Abdellah Saoualih
  • Larbi Safaa
  • Dalia Perkumienė
  • Walter Leal Filho

Abstract

This thematic review examines how the empirical literature has addressed sustainable business management (SBM) in higher education institutions (HEIs), identifies the thematic trajectories that have emerged, and diagnoses the existing gaps in order to inform the future research agenda. The analysis draws on a corpus of 107 studies published between 2020 and 2024, retrieved from Scopus and Web of Science. Using abstract‐based semantic text mining with the BERTopic model, combined with a thematic mapping approach, the analysis uncovers 13 topics ranging across categories of scholarly impact namely influential, cross‐cutting, deeply developed and emerging. The findings reflect both the potential of HEIs to act as catalysts for systemic sustainability and the ongoing existence of conceptual silos, methodological preferences and geographical imbalances. They also provide these institutions with evidence‐based opportunities to refine curriculum, enhance multi‐stakeholder engagement and strengthen institutional strategies for SBM, as a novel dynamic absent from existing review papers. At the same time, they equip policymakers and funding bodies with guidance about the inherent structural role of the higher education sector in driving transformative change.

Suggested Citation

  • Abdellah Saoualih & Larbi Safaa & Dalia Perkumienė & Walter Leal Filho, 2026. "Sustainable Business Management in Higher Education Institutions: A Strategic Roadmap for Addressing Research Gaps and Shaping the Forthcoming Agenda," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(2), pages 2558-2591, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:34:y:2026:i:2:p:2558-2591
    DOI: 10.1002/sd.70413
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