From numbers to narratives: perceived SDG integration and reported professional and ethical behaviour in accounting and marketing education

Purpose This paper aims to examine whether perceived SDG integration within accounting and marketing education is associated with reported professional and ethical behaviour among business students and graduates. It also evaluates the indirect association through cognitive and value transformation. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a cross-sectional survey of 400 students and graduates from business schools in 52 Arab universities across eight countries. Multi-item scales measured perceived SDG integration, cognitive and value transformation and reported professional and ethical behaviour. The hypothesised direct and indirect associations were analysed using PLS-SEM in SmartPLS 4 with 5,000 bootstrap resamples. Findings Perceived SDG integration was positively associated with reported professional and ethical behaviour. The indirect association through cognitive and value transformation was also significant, but the direct association remained significant after the mediator was included in the model. Cognitive and value transformation therefore accounts for part of the estimated association, not all of it. Originality/value The paper examines accounting and marketing education within the same analytical model but treats them as distinct disciplinary settings. Its contribution lies in a conceptual framing of the relationship between sustainability evidence and the claims made from that evidence. Cognitive and value transformation gives this connection an explanatory focus.