Sustainability in Management Education: Identifying andPrioritizing Critical Success Factors Through ISM-MICMACAnalysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.66635/rydgj352Keywords:
Sustainability Education, Management Education, Experiential Learning, Curriculum DesignAbstract
Sustainability and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) considerations have moved from the periphery to the core of corporate strategy, creating growing pressure on business schools to embed sustainability as a formal subject rather than a peripheral elective. This paper synthesises evidence from twelve Scopus-indexed studies published in outlets such as The International Journal of Management Education, the International Journal of Management Reviews, Sustainability, and Frontiers in Education, to identify the factors that determine whether a sustainability course succeeds within a university curriculum, including cases where students undertook ESG or sustainability projects as part of their coursework. Twelve recurring factors were extracted through a structured narrative review and analysed using Interpretive Structural Modelling and MICMAC (Matrice d'Impacts Croisés Multiplication Appliquée à un Classement), which classifies factors by driving power and dependence power. Leadership commitment, structural policy support and dedicated funding emerge as the strongest drivers, while experiential project-based learning depends heavily on these enablers. The paper offers a prioritised roadmap for universities planning to introduce sustainability courses.
References
1.Avelar, A. B. A., et al. (2025). Integrating sustainable development goals in management education: Impact on student knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. The International Journal of Management Education, 23(2), Article 101090. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1472811724001873
2.Bhaskar, A., & Shukla, O. J. (2026). Interpretive structural modeling approach for evaluating the enablers affecting sustainable development in the Indian handmade carpet industry. In Springer Nature (Ed.), Advances in Production and Quality Engineering. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-96-8058-0_3
3.Entrepreneurial education and its role in fostering sustainable communities. (2024). [MICMAC analysis of entrepreneurship-education enablers]. PMC open-access repository. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10981745/
4.Exploring sustainability assessment practices in higher education: A comprehensive review through content and bibliometric analyses. (2024). Sustainability (MDPI), 16(13), Article 5799. https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/13/5799
5.Grande, A. E. (2026). Challenges of integrating sustainability in management education: A 25-year review of institutional logics, paradoxes and sensemaking. International Journal of Management Reviews. Advance online publication. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ijmr.70034
6.Integrating sustainability into business and management studies in higher education. (2024). The International Journal of Management Education, 22(1). https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1472811724000107
7.An interpretive structural modeling framework for analyzing sustainable higher education. (2026). Frontiers in Education, 11, Article 1819660. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/education/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1819660/full
8.ISM-MICMAC analysis of brittle systems components in sustainable higher education. (2026). Frontiers in Education, 11, Article 1819680. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/education/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1819680/full
9.Nguyen, L. T. V., Cleveland, D., Nguyen, C. T. M., & Joyce, C. E. (2025). Empowering and implementing sustainability integration into higher education curriculum in emerging countries: 'Walk the talk' or 'talk the talk'? International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 26(9), 389-410. https://www.emerald.com/ijshe/article/26/9/389/1300270/
10.Nida, R., Chandra, A., & Shukla, R. (2024). ISM-fuzzy MICMAC approach for modelling the enablers of sustainability. IIMBG Journal of Sustainable Business and Innovation, 2(2), 120-142. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSBI-11-2023-0054
11.Adopting sustainability competencies in management education - A scoping review of progress. (2025). Standards (MDPI), 5(2), Article 13. https://doi.org/10.3390/standards5020013
12.Systematic literature review on the sustainability of higher education institutions (HEIs): Dimensions, practices and research gaps. (2025). Cogent Education. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2331186X.2025.2549789
13.Aggarwal, D, (2023), Exploring the scope of artificial intelligence (AI) for lifelong education through personalised & adaptive learning, Journal of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Neural Network, vol11 issue 41,
14.Lowe, D, Galhotra B, “Indian Higher Education: Sustainable Development And Acceptance Of Digital Learning Platforms And Moocs In Pre And Post Covid Scenarios”, 2023, European Chemical Bulletin, vol 12 issue 5
15.Seth, S., & Grover, D. (2026). Rethinking higher education pedagogy for Generation Z: Strategies, challenges, and theoretical perspectives on artificial intelligence integration. The Journal of Asia Entrepreneurship and Sustainability, 22(5S), 54–60. https://doi.org/10.66635/9a8bbs13
