Governance and leadership for the green transition: institutional decision-making and policy alignment in higher education institutions

Purpose This paper investigates the interplay between institutional governance and leadership in enabling the green transition within higher education institutions (HEIs), proposing that their synergy is critical for transformative change. Design/methodology/approach A qualitatively dominant multi-methods research design was adopted across 40 HEIs, integrating quantitative analysis of sustainability performance metrics with qualitative thematic analysis of institutional documents, framed by institutional and transformational leadership theories. Findings The research reveals that sustainability performance is contingent on “governance–leadership coherence.” Effective transformation occurs not from structures or agency alone, but from their dynamic interaction: governance provides stability and accountability, while leadership supplies vision and adaptive capacity. Regional variations highlight context-dependent pathways to this coherence. Originality/value The study makes a significant theoretical contribution by developing and validating an integrated governance–leadership coherence model (GLCS), offering a novel framework to analyse and catalyse systemic institutional change.