Integrating Digital Transformation and Leadership for Business Sustainability: A Systematic Review and Conceptual Framework

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Despite massive global investments in the "Twin Transition"—the integration of digital technologies and green initiatives—a profound empirical paradox persists: a majority of digital sustainability efforts fail to deliver their promised outcomes due to a critical neglect of internal human mechanisms. To deconstruct this organizational "black box," this study conducted a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) strictly adhering to the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. We systematically retrieved and analyzed literature from the Scopus database spanning from 2016 to 2025. To ensure the highest standard of empirical validity and article quality, inclusion criteria were rigorously restricted to English-language, peer-reviewed primary journal articles focused explicitly on the digital-sustainability nexus, deliberately excluding non-primary sources such as editorials, conference proceedings, and gray literature. Following a multi-stage screening procedure—encompassing an initial title/abstract thematic evaluation and a subsequent in-depth full-text eligibility assessment—a robust analytical corpus of 102 high-impact articles was established. The synthesis procedure utilized an iterative thematic analysis structurally governed by the Context, Intervention, Mechanism, and Outcome (CIMO) framework to systematically map how technological drivers interact with human variables. This rigorous synthesis uncovers a prevailing theoretical hegemony centered on the Resource-Based View (RBV) and identifies a striking "mixed-methods paradox," highlighting the acute underrepresentation of cultural orchestration in the current literature. To resolve this systemic fragmentation, this research introduces the Sustainability Organizational Culture Framework (SOCF). This integrative conceptual model positions organizational culture as the central mediating mechanism that effectively translates digital interventions and Green Transformational Leadership into holistic Triple Bottom Line performance and long-term organizational resilience. Moving beyond mere techno-solutionism, the SOCF provides a pragmatic, human-centric roadmap for managers and policymakers to align digital investments with cultural readiness, ensuring meaningful institutional survival in the digital age.