Reconceptualising Sustainable Intelligence as a Multidimensional Psychological Capability

Authors

Muhammad Zuhdi Abu Bakar

Faculty of Applied Social Sciences, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA), 21300 Gong Badak, Terengganu (Malaysia)

Muaz Azinuddin

Faculty of Applied Social Sciences, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA), 21300 Gong Badak, Terengganu (Malaysia)

Article Information

DOI: 10.47772/IJRISS.2026.10200054

Subject Category: Tourism

Volume/Issue: 10/2 | Page No: 715-722

Publication Timeline

Submitted: 2026-02-05

Accepted: 2026-02-10

Published: 2026-02-24

Abstract

Sustainable Intelligence (SI) has emerged as a crucial concept, particularly in sustainability and environmental studies. Despite its growing popularity among scholars across various fields, including education, organisations, community, tourism, and environment, SI still lacks a robust definition and confusing dimensions that can alter the content of studies. This paper aims to refine the SI framework by integrating perspectives from ecological intelligence, environmental ethics, systems intelligence, and cognitive sustainability. Through this integration, SI is presented as a multidimensional approach that can enhance environmental quality and improve practicality for stakeholders, promoting a long-term, positive impact on sustainability. The refinement provides a clearer context for sustainability, closing the gap between knowledge of sustainability and sustained behavioural change, and highlights its functionality across various sectors. By strengthening the SI framework, it can be applied by scholars, thereby reducing the research gap and increasing the likelihood of its application in future empirical research to foster sustainability-oriented thinking and behaviour.

Keywords

Sustainable intelligence, sustainability, pro-environmental behaviour, environmental

Downloads

References

1. Bansal, P., & Song, H. C. (2017). Similar but not the same: Differentiating corporate sustainability from corporate responsibility. Academy of Management Annals, 11(1), 105-149. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Bamberg, S., & Möser, G. (2007). Twenty years after Hines … A meta-analysis. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 27(1), 14–25. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Barbier, E. B. (1987). The concept of sustainable economic development. Environmental Conservation, 14(2), 101–110. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0376892900011449 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. De Jesus, J. Y. B., Merle, P. N. B., Moñedera, E. U., Nicdao, R. A. F., & Etrata, A. E. Jr. (2024). Generation Z’s purchase intention towards green apparel: The mediating role of apparel sustainability knowledge and green perceived value. Review of Integrative Business and Economics Research, 13(2), 107–122. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Dolnicar, S., & Grün, B. (2009). Environmentally friendly behavior: Can heterogeneity among individuals and contexts/environments be harvested for improved sustainable management? Environment and Behavior, 41(5), 693–714. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Elkington, J. (1994). Towards the sustainable corporation: Win-win-win business strategies for sustainable development. California Management Review, 36(2), 90–100. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Elkington, J. (1997). Cannibals with forks: The triple bottom line of 21st century business. Capstone Publishing. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Estoque, R. C. (2020). A review of the sustainability concept and the state of SDG monitoring using remote sensing. Remote Sensing, 12(11), 1770. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Field, A. (2009). Discovering statistics using SPSS: (And sex and drugs and rock ’n’ roll). SAGE Publications. Gardner, H. (2011). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. Basic Books. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Gifford, R. (2011). The dragons of inaction: psychological barriers that limit climate change mitigation and adaptation. American psychologist, 66(4), 290. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Gigerenzer, G., & Gaissmaier, W. (2011). Heuristic decision making. Annual review of psychology, 62(2011), 451-482. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Goleman, D. (2009). Ecological intelligence. Broadway Books. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Goleman, D., Barlow, Z., & Bennett, L. (2010). Forging new norms in New Orleans: From emotional to ecological intelligence. Teacher Education Quarterly, 37(4), 87 – 98. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Hahn, T., Preuss, L., Pinkse, J., & Figge, F. (2014). Cognitive frames in corporate sustainability: Managerial sensemaking with paradoxical and business case frames. Academy of management review, 39(4), 463487. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Higham, J., Cohen, S. A., Cavaliere, C. T., Reis, A., & Finkler, W. (2016). Climate change, tourist air travel and radical emissions reduction. Journal of Cleaner Production, 111, 336–347. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Hossain, I., Nekmahmud, M., & Fekete-Farkas, M. (2022). How do environmental knowledge, eco-label knowledge, and green trust impact consumers’ pro-environmental behaviour for energy-efficient household appliances? Sustainability, 14(11), 6513. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Jaakkola, E. (2020). Designing conceptual articles: Four approaches. AMS Review, 10(1–2), 18–26. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Kaiser, F. G., & Wilson, M. (2004). Goal-directed conservation behavior: The specific composition of a general performance. Personality and Individual Differences, 36(7), 1531–1544. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Kollmuss, A., & Agyeman, J. (2002). Mind the gap: Why do people act environmentally and what are the barriers to pro-environmental behaviour? Environmental Education Research, 8(3), 239–260. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Kopnina, H. (2014). Environmental justice and biospheric egalitarianism: Reflecting on a normativephilosophical view of human–nature relationship. Earth Perspectives, 1(1), 8. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Lee, C. K., Olya, H., Ahmad, M. S., Kim, K. H., & Oh, M. J. (2021). Sustainable intelligence, destination social responsibility, and pro-environmental behaviour of visitors: Evidence from an eco-tourism site. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 47, 365–376. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. Lee, C. K., Olya, H., Park, Y. N., Kwon, Y. J., & Kim, M. J. (2023). Sustainable intelligence and cultural worldview as triggers to preserve heritage tourism resources. Tourism Geographies, 25(2–3), 899–918. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. López-Sánchez, Y., & Pulido-Fernández, J. I. (2016). In search of the pro-sustainable tourist: A segmentation based on the tourist “sustainable intelligence”. Tourism Management Perspectives, 17, 59–71. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. MacInnis, D. J. (2011). A framework for conceptual contributions in marketing. Journal of Marketing, 75(4), 136–154. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

26. Maditati, R., Munim, Z. H., Schramm, H. J., & Kummer, S. (2018). A review of green supply chain management: From bibliometric analysis to a conceptual framework. Sustainability, 10(5), 1525. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

27. Saarinen, E. (2004). Systems intelligence—Discovering a hidden competence in human action and organizational life (Vol. 88). Helsinki University of Technology. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

28. Saarinen, E., & Hämäläinen, R. P. (2007). Systems intelligence: Connecting engineering thinking with human sensitivity. In Systems intelligence in leadership and everyday life (pp. 51–78). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

29. Silvestre, W. J., & Fonseca, A. (2020). Integrative sustainable intelligence: A holistic model to integrate corporate sustainability strategies. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 27(4), 1578–1590. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

30. Silvestre, W. J., Antunes, P., & Filho, W. L. (2014). Hybrid bottom line: Another perspective on the sustainability of organizations. International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 21(5), 456–464. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

31. Stern, P. C. (2000). New environmental theories: Toward a coherent theory of environmentally significant behavior. Journal of Social Issues, 56(3), 407–424. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

32. United Nations Inter-Agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators (UN IAEG-SDGs) (2020). Tier classification for global SDG indicators. https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/iaeg-sdgs/tier-classification/ [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

33. United Nations. (2015). Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. UNESCO. (2025). Education for sustainable development: What you need to know. https://www.unesco.org/en/sustainable-development/education/need-know [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

Metrics

Views & Downloads

Similar Articles