Emerging Perspectives on Sustainability in Business Schools: A Systematic Literature Review of Pedagogical Tools in Teaching Sustainability

Abstract

This study investigates and critically assesses the reported pedagogical strategies for teaching sustainability in business schools and looks into Modern Responsible Management Education (MRME) evolving as a central part of business education curricula, mainly supported by digital teaching tools and virtual reality. The study utilizes the ‘‘Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses’’ (PRISMA) framework to answer the following two research questions: (1) What are the state-of-the-art practices in business schools in terms of sustainability? (2) What digital tools are most commonly used to support sustainability-related learning concepts? Data was curated from the Web of Science Core Collection databases from the last five years. The initial search keywords included ‘‘Sustainability’’ + ‘‘Business Education’’ +$\prime\prime Technolog \mathrm{y}$” and yielded 1,477 scholarly works. However, after the PRISMA technique was employed, 286 scholarly sources were identified as eligible for the scope of the study. The findings highlight three main critical points: (1) gamitication techniques can enhance student learning outcomes in sustainability and, in particular, critical thinking; (2) e-platforms and other digital tools can support students’ sustainabilityrelated skills development while emphasizing the importance of sustainability; and (3) e-platforms and virtual pedagogical tools can generate a collaborative and integrated learning environment leading to community-centric mindset. Furthermore, the literature indicated that sustainability-related courses raised awareness of various socio-economic factions and changes in industrial structures toward environmentally friendly organizations and led to betterjob prospects.