The Digitalization of Corporate Sustainability Reporting: A Systematic Literature Review and Synthesis for Future Research

The purpose of the article is to conduct a systematic literature review on the role of digitalization in corporate sustainability reporting processes. Scientific publications from the Scopus database were used to conduct a systematic literature review. As a result of reviewing the abstracts to determine suitability for the research topic, 193 publications were selected. Data for analysis were processed using the computer programs R Studio and VOSviewer. The obtained results of the analysis made it possible to state the exponential growth of research on digitalization in the processes of forming corporate sustainability reporting. The segmentation of the studied conceptual landscape made it possible to identify five clusters. The obtained thematic areas indicate increased interaction between information technologies (artificial intelligence, machine learning, cloud computing, blockchain, and iXBRL) and sustainability reporting. The results of the analysis indicate that recently, there has been an evolutionary transition from broad (more theoretical) topics to highly specialized research, in which scientists are increasingly paying attention to the practical implementation and future trajectories of digital transformations. The following research areas on the digital transformation of corporate sustainability reporting have been identified: (1) digital technologies (mainly artificial intelligence and machine learning) as a means of collecting information for sustainability reporting; (2) digital technologies (mainly blockchain) as a tool for ensuring transparency and security of information in the context of sustainability reporting; (3) digital technologies (mainly iXBRL) as a standard (electronic format) for the digital presentation of data in sustainability reporting. The originality of this article lies in the fact that it presents the current state of scholarly work in the field of the digitalization of sustainability reporting, providing a promising agenda for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers and outlining a roadmap for future research.