The Sustainable Development Goals And Business Students’ Preferences: An Exploratory Study On Changes Pre- And Post-Pandemic

ASU Author/Contributor (non-ASU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Chelsea Rose Gulliver (Creator)
Institution
Appalachian State University (ASU )
Web Site: https://library.appstate.edu/
Advisor
Jim Westerman

Abstract: In 2015, the U.N. developed a resolution creating 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with the objective to “stimulate” action towards capacity-building and resiliency. One of the best methods by which societies can gain support for SDG implementation is through higher education, as it represents a primary means by which individuals internalize societal norms, values, and beliefs. This is particularly true for higher education in the field of business, as organizations are intricately involved in resource extraction, supply chain management, and waste generation (amongst other sustainability challenges). The Covid-19 pandemic represents a punctuated equilibrium event, whose disruptions forced institutions and organizations within society to break from their evolutionary stasis, generating rapid adaptations and dynamic responses to ever changing conditions. This study explores pandemic effects on business student SDG preferences pre- and post-pandemic, examining which personal attitudes, values, and behaviors are related to the SDGs, what such preferences could indicate for the SDGs, and what, if any, influence the pandemic may have had on these factors. Survey method was utilized, with a sample of 187 students, and a post-pandemic sample of 126 students. Results of a series of cluster analyses suggest a shift has occurred, most notably in SDG 1: No Poverty, and preferences for working in a green organization, green human resource management, with authoritarianism, individualism/collectivism, religiousness, religious importance, political ideology, and political affiliation.

Additional Information

Publication
Thesis
Gulliver, C. (2022). The Sustainable Development Goals And Business Students’ Preferences: An Exploratory Study On Changes Pre- And Post-Pandemic. Unpublished Master’s Thesis. Appalachian State University, Boone, NC.
Language: English
Date: 2022
Keywords
Sustainability, Attitude, Behavior, Covid-19, Higher Education

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