Sustainable adoption of artificial intelligence and the Metaverse in higher education: an environmental, social, and governance–based analysis of pedagogical innovation and perceived student learning outcomes

The rapid convergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Metaverse technologies is reshaping the higher education landscape by enabling immersive, personalized, and adaptive learning experiences. However, the long-term sustainability of such innovations remains uncertain without addressing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations. This study develops and empirically validates an ESG-informed framework for Sustainable AI–Metaverse Adoption (SAAM) in higher education. A quantitative research design was employed, collecting data from 280 university students across diverse disciplines through a structured survey. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM-PLS) was applied to assess measurement reliability, convergent and discriminant validity, and to test the proposed hypotheses. The empirical results demonstrate that ESG dimensions exert differential effects on sustainable adoption, with environmental and social factors showing stronger direct associations than governance-related variables. Environmental sustainability, through energy-efficient AI systems, significantly enhances SAAM. Similarly, social dimensions, particularly inclusive AI access and student acceptance, exert robust positive effects on sustainable adoption, whereas faculty readiness influences adoption indirectly. Conversely, governance-related factors exhibit comparatively weaker direct effects: institutional policy support enhances digital infrastructure but does not directly influence SAAM, whereas ethical AI use has a limited impact, reflecting student prioritization of usability over ethics in early stages of adoption. Importantly, the outcomes highlight that SAAM substantially fosters digital pedagogical innovation (DPI) and enhanced student learning outcomes (ESLO), confirming its transformative potential. The study contributes theoretically by integrating ESG principles into technology adoption research, offering a multidimensional lens that enriches the understanding of sustainable digital transformation in higher education. Practically, it provides institutions and policymakers with evidence-based insights to design environmentally conscious, socially inclusive, and governance-supported strategies for AI–Metaverse integration. Future research should expand to cross-cultural contexts, larger samples, and longitudinal designs to validate and generalize these findings.