Gender influence on business students’ expectations for sustainability transformations in higher education: a cross-national study

Purpose – This study aims to examine how male and female students’ sustainability expectations of Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) differ in various cultural contexts. Design/methodology/approach – Based on a sample of 239 business students from the USA and Germany, a mixed qualitative-quantitative research design is employed combining content analysis and Kano analysis to examine gender- and country-different students’ sustainability expectations. Findings – Female students across countries have higher sustainability expectations than males. Gender equality and inclusion are more important to female than male students. While male students considered most attributes as indifferent, female students in the US considered many sustainability attributes as one-dimensional, and those in Germany considered production and consumption and equity and inclusion as must-be attributes. Research limitations/implications – A larger, more representative sample could provide deeper insights into students’ sustainability expectations. The Kano model may not fully capture the complexity of these expectations due to its reliance on predefined definitions. More comprehensive and dynamic approaches are needed to understand and predict students’ sustainability expectations. Practical implications – Grouping HEIs’ sustainability transformation attributes based on students’ basic, performance and excitement needs supports quality and expectation management at HEIs by prioritizing measures and aligning sustainability communication. Originality/value – To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to apply Kano analysis to examine and compare students’ future-oriented normative sustainability expectations of their HEIs across different gender groups and countries. It enables more profound and realistic insights into barriers and enablers of HEIs’ sustainability transformations and highlights how unmet expectations can impact stakeholder behavior across different country contexts.