Abstract:

This study examines the relationship between sustainability-related management education and the ethical choices and pro-environmental attitudes of business students in India. Based on Human Capital Theory, Value-Belief-Norm Theory, and the Theory of Planned Behavior, we propose a moderated serial mediation model in which sustainability education leads to improved sustainability knowledge, increased environmental concern, and enhanced moral responsibility, resulting in better ethical decision-making and pro-environmental behaviors. A primary survey of 612 undergraduate and postgraduate management students from 14 business schools in India was conducted, and structural equation modeling analysis indicates that sustainability education leads to improved ethical decision-making and pro-environmental attitudes, with sustainability knowledge, environmental concern, and moral responsibility as sequential mediators. Work experience had a moderating effect on the relationships between sustainability education, sustainability knowledge, environmental concern, and moral responsibility. The results reflect the importance of sustainability education for developing the next generation of business leaders and offer implications for curriculum design and policy in emerging economies.

Please choose your submission type: Developmental Paper

Primary Track: Sustainable and Responsible Business

Keywords: responsible business;leadership/management development;education;mixed method;grounded theory;survey

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Prof Ishita Batra