Additionally, by integrating supportive campus environment as part of the multidimensional construct which has not been addressed in previous TNE student engagement literature, this shows the signific

The gap

Consensus across the literature

Supporting evidence — 5 representative gaps

• Integrating Sustainable Development Goals Into Quality Management Practices: Basis For Proposed Framework and Strategic Plan (2026) · doi

  In this note, to strengthen the institutionalization of sustainability, the study puts forward key strategic recommendations grounded in its empirical findings. It advocates for the formal adoption of the IMPACT–SDG Framework and the implementation of the Five-Year Strategic Plan (2026–2030) to systematically embed SDG integration within the QMS. Central actions include aligning VMGO and institutional policies with priority SDGs, establishing a robust monitoring and evaluation system, and integrating sustainability into curriculum and faculty development. The study further highlights the need to enhance documentation, reporting, and quality control mechanisms, ensure sustained resource allocation, and invest in technological systems to support data-driven decision-making. Strengthening alignment with accreditation and ISO processes, expanding partnerships and internationalization efforts, and promoting longitudinal and comparative research are likewise emphasized to advance institutional coherence, global competitiveness, and long-term sustainability integration. 1486 REFERENCES Volume 2 Issue 5 (2026) Adipat, S., & Chotikapanich, R. (2022). Sustainable Development Goal 4: An Education Goal to Achieve Equitable Quality Education. Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 11(6), 174. https://doi.org/10.36941/ajis-2022-0159 Agenda 2030: Factors of Innovation Activity and Socio-Economic Impact. Alcántara-Rubio, L., Valderrama-Hernández, R., Solís-Espallargas, C., & Ruiz-Morales, J. (2022). The implementation of the SDGs in universities: a systematic review.

  Keywords: sustainability strategic impact implementation integration institutional sdgs development quality goal education note strengthen institutionalization puts
• Community engagement ecosystems in South African higher education: A bibliometric analysis of scholarship advancing social justice, inclusion, and institutional strategy (2026) · doi

  The section below proposes strategic levers to strengthen community engagement in higher education, focusing on the need for greater institutionalisation, collaboration and methodological innovation. Furthermore, it points to major study limitations and recalls future research lines that can reinforce how community engagement contributes to positively changing academic and social systems. The first lever is the institutionalisation of community engagement for ecosystem sustainability The journey to sustainable community engagement (CE) requires meaningful institutionalisation into formal policies, strategic plans and governance frameworks, underpinned by adequate funding and aligned mechanisms for reward. Legitimising CE as a core academic function, rather than an optional activity, also requires its integration into promotion and performance criteria. Institutional commitment: Integration could allow engagement efforts of the campus to be sustained (and enhanced) long after institutional sponsorship ends by ensuring continuity, providing a staff umbrella that enables greater participation in outreach (as described before), and alignment more effectively with teaching and research, ultimately demanding stronger overall sustainability for the ecosystem for such engagements. A second lever is building multidisciplinary and cross-institutional networks for innovation and social impact. There is already too much fragmentation and concentration that call for more collaboration across disciplines and universities. Through inclusive networks, institutions should exchange expertise, share resources and co-produce knowledge that is more attuned to societal challenges. This not only amplifies innovation but also enables aligned, sector-wide responses to enhance the community value of CE efforts. The third strategic lever is promoting methodological innovation through participatory and decolonial lenses. By employing anti-colonial research methods which highlight local knowledge systems as well as following consideration for marginal voices, universities must be mindful of how to carry out ethical engagements. By ensuring that knowledge production is contextually anchored and socially responsive, thereby adding legitimacy, relevance and transformative validity to CE. Despite these strengths, this paper does have several limitations. However, this dependence on bibliometric analysis inherently prioritises indexed and peer-reviewed resources, which risks marginalising potentially valuable insights from non-indexed publications. This carries the risk of Anglo-centric bias, as global databases have been argued to underrepresent scholarship from the Global South. The exclusion of grey literature, for example, policy reports, and community-based research outputs or even institutional documents, is another limitation in the comprehensiveness of this analysis; particularly relevant in a relatively new but effective field like community engagement, where practice-based knowledge is substantial. These limitations indicate that the results ought to be viewed as an incomplete but significant snapshot of the CE knowledge landscape. Future studies should build upon these findings and conduct longitudinal impact studies, assessing the real-world outcomes of community engagement initiatives over time, particularly regarding justice and institutionalisation. There is also a need for studies comparing African contexts to better explain how various socio-political and institutional environments influence CE practices and 388 Makhanya, International Journal of Business Ecosystem & Strategy, 8(2), (2026) 380-391 scholarship. Making methodological approaches broader than bibliometrics, by including qualitative, participative and mixed methods research, would yield a more complete picture of the field.

  Keywords: community engagement institutional knowledge institutionalisation innovation strategic methodological limitations lever ecosystem need greater collaboration future
• Promotion of sustainability in postgraduate education in the Asia Pacific region (2011) · doi

  
\nFindings – The paper discusses the challenges confronting higher education institutions in the context of the decade of education for sustainable development (DESD) and finds that whilst many local actions within universities are being initiated in relation to ESD, there is insufficient cross institutional collaboration occurring to achieve the transformative agenda of ESD.

  Keywords: education nfindings discusses challenges confronting higher institutions context decade sustainable development desd finds whilst local
• Student engagement and perceived gains in transnational education in Ghana (2021) · doi

  Additionally, by integrating supportive campus environment as part of the multidimensional construct which has not been addressed in previous TNE student engagement literature, this shows the significance of institutional structures and commitment to supporting student engagement.

  Keywords: student engagement additionally integrating supportive campus environment part multidimensional construct addressed previous literature shows significance
• Sustainability in Higher Education: A Systematic Review and Conceptual Framework of Institutional Maturity (SHE-IMM) (2026) · doi

  This review contributes by (i) identifying critical under-researched areas, (ii) refining a keyword framework to guide future inquiry, and (iii) introducing the Sustainability in Higher Education (SHE) Institutional Maturity Matrix (SHE-IMM), a conceptual model categorising institutions into foundational, transitional, and transformative stages of sustainability integration.

  Keywords: sustainability review contributes identifying critical researched areas refining keyword framework guide future inquiry introducing higher