The paradox of rankings: can higher education institutions lead the sustainable transition while simultaneously seeking global prestige?

Purpose This study aims to propose the model of tensions and paradoxes in leadership for university sustainability (MTPLUS), an integrative conceptual framework designed to explain, diagnose and support the governance of tensions that emerge between the pursuit of prestige in sustainability rankings and the imperatives of long-term institutional transformation. Design/methodology/approach Conceptual study oriented towards theory building, based on a critical conceptual synthesis that integrates organisational paradox theory, phronesis and the Quintuple Helix perspective. The analysis critically examines university sustainability rankings and derives paradoxical dimensions, navigation strategies, organisational metacapacities and theoretically grounded propositions. Findings MTPLUS identifies three paradoxical dimensions: temporal, scalar and paradigmatic and organises a repertoire of navigation strategies composed of temporal separation, spatial differentiation, integrative synthesis and paradoxical acceptance. The model reconceptualises phronesis as a mediating organisational metacapacity, operationalised by reflective, adaptive, integrative and collaborative capacities and proposes a heuristic framework for diagnosis and deliberation to support the contingent combination of governance responses in contexts characterised by persistent tensions. This study also formulates theoretically derived propositions amenable to empirical investigation. Research limitations/implications As a conceptual contribution, it requires comparative and longitudinal empirical evaluation. Practical implications It offers a heuristic framework for diagnosis, deliberation and institutional learning to support adaptive governance, the development of multidimensional assessment systems and curriculum planning geared towards the development of paradoxical leadership. Social implications It recognises academic excellence as the ability to thoughtfully navigate paradoxes in the pursuit of post-2030 sustainability. Originality/value This study integrates literature on rankings, prestige and transformative sustainability; adapts paradox theory to the specificities of higher education; reconceptualises phronesis as a mediating organisational metacapacity; and introduces a novel articulation between paradoxical dimensions, navigation strategies, metacapacities and a heuristic logic of diagnosis and deliberation for university governance of sustainability.