A Longitudinal Study on Sustainability Perceptions in Portugal

Bruno M. Ferreira (), José Luís Abrantes, Manuel Reis and Flávio R. Brambilla
Additional contact information
Bruno M. Ferreira: CISeD—Research Center in Digital Services, Instituto Politécnico de Viseu, 3504-510 Viseu, Portugal
José Luís Abrantes: CISeD—Research Center in Digital Services, Instituto Politécnico de Viseu, 3504-510 Viseu, Portugal
Manuel Reis: CISeD—Research Center in Digital Services, Instituto Politécnico de Viseu, 3504-510 Viseu, Portugal
Flávio R. Brambilla: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Administração, UNISC—Universidade de Santa Cruz do Sul, Santa Cruz do Sul 96815-010, Brazil

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 7, 1-11

Abstract: This study aims to advance the understanding of sustainable behaviour by exploring the perceptions, knowledge, and opinions about the sustainability of nearly graduated students in Portugal. A three-wave exploratory and longitudinal study was conducted with Management and Marketing students in 2020, 2021, and 2022. The findings come from both quantitative and qualitative approaches. First, the results reveal low levels of knowledge about sustainability, Sustainable Development Goals, and other related concepts. Then, by a qualitative analysis, this study highlights the terms related to sustainability and perceived sustainable practices. It also examines changes perceived since the COVID-19 pandemic and what their threats and opportunities in the coming years are. The main conclusion of this study is the critical need for education on sustainability and related concepts beyond simple recycling practices. The use of sustainability as a marketing tool is insufficient to create a viable future. Higher education must develop a new shared and sustainable vision for sustainability education.

Keywords: sustainability education; sustainable development; sustainable behaviour; sustainability knowledge; exploratory study (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/7/5893/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/7/5893/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:7:p:5893-:d:1109862

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().