When Digitalization Meets Sustainability: A Bibliometric and Systematic Literature Review of Its Impact on Firm Performance
Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management
Published online on July 11, 2026
Abstract
["Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, EarlyView. ", "\nABSTRACT\nResearch on digitalization, sustainability, and firm performance has grown rapidly in recent years, yet the literature remains fragmented across disciplines, concepts, and empirical settings. This study addresses the fragmentation by providing a combined bibliometric and systematic literature review (B‐SLR) of research at the intersection of digitalization, sustainability, and firm performance. The analysis draws on 305 English‐language journal articles published between 2013 and 2023 and indexed in Scopus and Web of Science. Using performance analysis, science mapping, and content analysis, the study examines publication trends, leading journals, influential countries, prominent authors, collaboration networks, co‐citation structures, and keywords co‐occurrence patterns. The findings show a marked increase in scholarly attention to this field and identify four major thematic areas: (1) digitalization's impact on sustainable firm performance, (2) sustainable corporate performance and green practices, (3) integrating industry 4.0 technologies in sustainable supply chain management, and (4) digitalization as a driver of the circular economy business models. By integrating these streams into a structured knowledge framework, the study contributes to the literature in three ways: it clarifies the intellectual structure of the field, highlights areas of convergence and fragmentation, and identifies a future research agenda shaped by contextual variation, methodological gaps, and unexplored linkages across themes. This review also offers practical relevance for managers and policymakers seeking to align digital initiatives with sustainability objectives in diverse organizational settings. The study is limited to English‐language peer‐reviewed journal articles indexed in Scopus and Web of Science, and analyzed primarily through VOS viewer, which may have excluded relevant studies captured through alternative databases, languages, or bibliometric tools.\n"]