Institutional determinants of ISSA 5000 readiness in Latin American universities: evidence from a multinomial logistic model
Viviana Paola Delgado Sánchez, Victor Hugo Nauzan Ceballos, Andres Mauricio Mauricio Castro FigueroaPurpose
This study identifies the institutional factors that condition the probability of Latin American higher education institutions (HEIs) reaching different readiness levels for external sustainability assurance under ISSA 5000 the first international standard on sustainability assurance issued by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB).
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 222 HEIs from 16 Latin American countries, drawn from the Times Higher Education (THE) Latin America Rankings 2025/2026, was analyzed using a multinomial logistic regression model. Institutional maturity was operationalized as a three-level construct Incipient, Intermediate and Ready proxied by participation in the THE Impact Rankings. Four predictors were examined: research quality, industry linkage, international outlook, and the existence of a sustainability report.
Findings
Research quality and industry linkage are the dominant predictors of institutional maturity. The existence of a sustainability report is statistically non-significant across all maturity levels, consistent with institutional decoupling between formal reporting and auditing capacity. Only 10.4% of institutions reach the Ready level. Country-level analysis reveals sharp heterogeneity: Argentina achieves the highest proportion of Ready institutions (33.3%), while Mexico registers the lowest (4.0%).
Research limitations/implications
The dependent variable is proxied by ranking participation, introducing potential selection bias. The cross-sectional design precludes causal inference. Future research should incorporate primary data and longitudinal designs.
Practical implications
Universities should prioritize investment in data infrastructure and industry linkages alongside, not solely through, report publication. Accreditation bodies should evaluate data traceability and internal control systems. The IAASB should consider differentiated implementation timelines for emerging economies.
Originality/value
This study provides the first quantitative characterization of ISSA 5000 readiness in Latin American HEIs, extends institutional maturity frameworks to a specific regulatory context, offers the first country-level gap analysis of sustainability assurance capacity in the region and empirically documents institutional decoupling between formal sustainability reporting and genuine auditing capacity.