Sustainability as a dynamic organizational capability: a systematic review and a future agenda toward a sustainable transition

Abstract

Research highlights• Current lack of research integrating both themes • Need for research on dynamic capabilities for sustainability • Opportunity for investigations on developing countries or comparative analysis • Opportunity for studies considering mixed methodologies through research alliances • Opportunity to discuss managerial innovations toward sustainability AbstractSustainability is a managerial trend that plays an important role in the contemporary organizational strategy. A company's capability to make sustainability more dynamic and integrated with strategies, transforming it into a business asset, has yet to be studied. This process of adaptation is reflected through innovative practices. However, there is still a gap between these practices and the organization's strategies and capabilities. The aim of this work was to conduct a systematic literature review of the dynamic capabilities for sustainability. Afterward, it was possible to systematize the available knowledge, assessing the current lack of research integrating both themes. The mainstream literature was classified and coded, resulting in a framework for what has been done to date, with recommendations to guide future research. Results show that more research is needed on dynamic capabilities for sustainability, especially in emerging economies in general. Future studies should also consider mixed methodologies and comparative perspectives in multiples sectors or in the services sector. There's also space to discuss managerial innovations toward sustainability through research alliances between different institutions around the world. In short, there are few studies that connect both themes-corporate sustainability and dynamic capabilities-and for this reason there is an opportunity for future studies seeking to identify what kind of dynamic capabilities can be developed to more effectively overcome the emerging sustainability challenges.

Microfoundations of dynamic capabilities: Insights from circular economy business cases

“…Scholars argue that dynamic capabilities have an important role in achieving corporate sustainability (Annunziata, Pucci, Frey, & Zanni, ; Strauss, Lepoutre, & Wood, ; Wu et al, ). Therefore, more research should be conducted on this topic (Amui et al, ).…”

“…Scholars argue that dynamic capabilities have an important role in achieving corporate sustainability (Annunziata, Pucci, Frey, & Zanni, 2018;Strauss, Lepoutre, & Wood, 2017;Wu et al, 2013). Therefore, more research should be conducted on this topic (Amui et al, 2017). Hart (1995) points out that the transition towards corporate sustainability is not straightforward and firms may encounter various unexpected challenges.…”

“…Also, Wu, He, Duan, and O'Regan (2012) observed that "how firms develop and apply dynamic capabilities to address the distinctive challenges involved in corporate change toward sustainability is yet to be fully explored" (p. 233). Hence, in general, more research is needed on dynamic capabilities for corporate sustainability (Amui, Jabbour, de Sousa Jabbour, & Kannan, 2017).…”

Organizational Sustainability Practices: A Study of the Firms Listed by the Corporate Sustainability Index

“…Siew [2] conducted a review regarding the main methodologies employed to assess sustainability. Amui et al [3] focused on the dynamic and needs of sustainability and [4] on the quality of the corporate sustainability reports. This paper complements those works with a holistic view of the system through the analysis and assessment of the main sustainability categories, observing the recognized practices performed by large, corporations that are acknowledged as being sustainable.…”

Sustainability-Oriented Innovation in the Minerals Industry: An Empirical Study on the Effect of Non-Geographical Proximity Dimensions

“…Indeed, a great deal of research has studied the outcome of sustainability practices, and left us with limited understanding about the firm-level determinants of SOI [5,39]. Just recently, some scholars such as Ketata et al [25] have tried to fill in this gap, but they considered the firm's absorptive capacity as the sole explanatory factor for increased degree of SOI.…”