Background Contemporary global challenges require young entrepreneurs, but systematic evidence on the factors that influence sustainable entrepreneurial intentions in university contexts under the SDGs and transformative education is scarce. Previous reviews have addressed general entrepreneurial intention or social entrepreneurship without integrating the SDGs and transformative education as a unified framework. This gap hinders understanding of how young university students develop entrepreneurial identities aligned with global sustainability challenges and how educational programmes should be redesigned accordingly. Methods This systematic review is based on the PRISMA 2020 guidelines and a bibliometric analysis using Bibliometrix in R. The systematic search in four databases (Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, SAGE Journals) during 2015–2024 identified 59 studies that met the inclusion criteria. Results The analysis revealed an emerging field of research characterised by the progressive convergence between traditional entrepreneurship frameworks and the sustainability paradigm. Although the Theory of Planned Behaviour maintains conceptual hegemony, it required fragmented adaptations for sustainable entrepreneurship. Fragmentation of academic collaboration, research, and entrepreneurial education as a niche topic developed but peripherally integrated, and the SDGs as an emerging topic with unfulfilled potential. Conclusions The findings provide strategic opportunities for university administrators to address the design of sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems, distilling an integrated framework that links technical competencies, sustainable values, and transformative experiences through the reorganisation of organisations and university pedagogy.
Salinas et al. (2026) studied this question.