Modelling the Influences of Universities Culture on Sustainable Development

Abstract Sustainable development is not exactly a new topic, but seen in the light of recent events, there is a growing need to identify new ways of putting sustainable development principles into practice. The present paper aims to analyze the influence that elements of organizational culture have on sustainable development to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of implementing sustainable development management in Romanian higher education institutions. Since organizational culture influences organizational strategies, the article proposes a conceptual model for determining the influence of organizational culture on the implementation of sustainable development management. An argument for carrying out this study is the need to increase sustainable development practices in the Romanian labour market, starting from the changes in the educational system. As a result, we mention a model that can facilitate changes in the university culture, with influences on the integration of modern and topical theories and practices, such as sustainable development. The obtained results indicate a low correlation between university culture and sustainability, which opens another perspective on the need for a change of mentality in the Romanian university environment. The change concerns both vertical and horizontal integration, with micro and macro effects. The results are important for the Romanian university environment, first of all, to identify good practices or at least to see the need to transform the existing organizational culture. For university decision-makers, it helps to base development trends on existing realities. Last but not least, it may raise the question of extending the usefulness and importance of the study to the level of triple helix models in which universities should be much more active.