Sustainability, rankings and legitimacy: tools of competitive advantage for academic and social efficiency in higher education institutions

Abstract

Legitimacy, understood as the social acceptance of organizational actions, has become a key source of competitive advantage for universities, particularly as sustainability and social impact gain prominence in global rankings. This study examines whether top-ranked universities, when sustainability-related criteria are considered, are also the most academically and socially efficient, and whether perceived legitimacy is associated with such efficiency in an increasingly competitive higher education environment. Academic and social efficiency are assessed using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), while legitimacy is measured through sentiment analysis of news articles retrieved from the Lexis Nexis database using an artificial intelligence–based tool. The empirical analysis focuses on public Spanish universities. Results reveal a positive relationship between ranking position, perceived legitimacy, and academic and social efficiency. Academic reputation, research outputs, and graduate employability emerge as the most consistent drivers of both ranking performance and efficiency. However, the association with social efficiency is weaker, reflecting inconsistencies in sustainability-related key performance indicators and challenges in measuring and communicating universities' third mission, particularly their environmental and social impact. From a managerial perspective, the findings highlight the strategic role of external communication and stakeholder management in enhancing the visibility and perceived value of university outputs in research, teaching, and community engagement within a sustainability-driven media and ranking landscape.