Determinants of Sustainable Behavior in Higher Education: Insights from a Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

This study identifies, classifies, and synthesizes the determinants of sustainable behavior among university students and develops an integrative explanation of how these determinants interact. In this review, sustainable behavior is used as an umbrella analytical term encompassing closely related pro-environmental and green behavioral outcomes reported in the reviewed literature, while recognizing conceptual differences in breadth and emphasis. A Systematic Literature Review was reported using the PRISMA framework. Seven overlapping Scopus searches covering publications from 2016 to 2026 yielded 219 records. After duplicate removal and screening, 105 reports were selected for full-text retrieval; 40 reports without DOIs could not be retrieved via the available access routes for the review team, and 65 studies were included in the final synthesis. Thematic synthesis was researcher-led, while the Watase Uake System was used only to support reference organization, extracted data management, and preliminary theme mapping. The synthesis identifies four interrelated domains shaping students’ sustainable behavior: psychological, social, educational, and institutional factors. Environmental knowledge, environmental attitudes, subjective norms, personal values, self-efficacy, and institutional support emerge as recurrent determinants. Beyond summarizing these determinants, this review proposes an integrative multilevel framework in which institutional context and educational processes shape social and psychological mechanisms, while institutional support and green campus infrastructure function as enabling conditions that facilitate or constrain the translation of sustainable intentions into actual behavior. The framework provides a systemic behavioral ecosystem perspective for understanding environmentally oriented sustainable behavior in higher education.