The path towards sustainable development of industrial clusters: a study among future leaders of the Valencian textile cluster
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17561/ree.n2.2022.7077Keywords:
industrial cluster, sustainable development, university students, textile industryAbstract
We are facing a paradigm shift in which the need to take sustainability into account in each and
every area of society is becoming increasingly evident. In this context, industrial clusters must
be able to face this challenge with great solvency, and for this, the predisposition shown by
future business leaders and managers is essential.
The aim of this research was to shed light on the perception that university students,
as future members of the management area of companies in industrial clusters, have about
sustainability and the incorporation of more sustainable strategies in these companies. Based
on the information collected from a sample of 300 university students of the Alcoy Campus of
the Universitat Politècnica de València in Spain, which is located in the area of influence of the
Valencian textile cluster, the results obtained in this research reveal a significant general interest
in aspects linked to sustainability, although with different intensities depending on the gender of
the students and the type, year and level of studies undertaken. In addition, university students
show a greater preference for strategies aimed at the development of more energy-efficient
and sustainable infrastructures, the greater incorporation of renewable energies and sustainable
innovation processes, among others. The results also highlight the significant influence that the
inclusion of training in sustainability and environmental ethics in university curricula can have
on these processes. All these findings may have relevant implications for educational research,
as well as for cluster policies and business strategies.
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