The Role of Multiple Academic Identities When Implementing UNSDGs Within Marketing Curricula in UK Higher Education.

Abstract

Achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) is considered to be imperative for the future security and sustainability of the world. Universities are viewed as being a key industry to support the achievement of the goals by the target date of 2030. Previous research undertaken has attempted to understand how the goals can be successfully implemented within the university curricula, and although various processes for implementation have been suggested, no previous studies have examined the role of identity or the impact that this may have on the implementation of the UNSDGs. In this study, specific attention has been applied to the existing literature relating to the barriers to implementation, the role of identity, and the impact on implementation to understand the roles that personal, academic, and organizational identities play when implementing UNSDGs within higher education. The research undertaken has employed a qualitative inductive approach focused specifically upon the marketing curriculum. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the academics working at UK higher education institutions. Findings from the thematic analysis undertaken found that there is a complex interchange between these identities that significantly influences the extent to which the goals have been implemented successfully. In addition, multiple barriers have been identified that prevent successful implementation of the goals