Does undergraduate education in business administration contribute to the promotion of sustainable development?

Abstract

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a critical topic on the agenda of actions on several social fronts, including education, due to their potential as a key component to address new challenges and promote sustainable action. This study investigates to what extent the teaching, research and extension processes of administration courses are aligned with the 2030 Agenda in the mission of promoting Sustainable Development. With a qualitative approach and exploratory and descriptive typology, primary sources resulting from interviews with students and professors are used, as well as secondary sources from documents from the administration course at the Federal University of Amapá, covering a period of 13 years. The results highlight a greater alignment of teaching, research and extension practices of the management course to the SDGs that deal with decent work and economic growth, industry, innovation and infrastructure, and peace, justice and effective institutions. On the other hand, the SDGs related to poverty eradication, gender equality, and clean water and sanitation need greater attention in the actions documented in the guidelines and academic planning instruments of the course. In addition, most actors perceive it as important to incorporate sustainable practices in the actions of the administration course, however there are still barriers that hinder this practical implementation, such as lack of managerial initiative, normative rigidity and cultural paradigms.