Analyzing the Impact of Sustainability Knowledge Management on Employee Performance: Integrating Regression and Neural Network Approaches With Moderating Roles of E‐Working and Digital Knowledge Sharing

ABSTRACT This study explores the impact of sustainability knowledge management (SKM) on employee performance (EP) in emerging enterprises, focusing on the moderating role of digital knowledge sharing (DKS) systems and the moderating influence of electronically enabled working environments. Drawing from a panel dataset of 4126 firm‐year observations sourced from the responsible knowledge system (RKS) and the China Stock Market and Accounting Research databases, the study operationalizes key elements such as corporate knowledge management (CKM), sustainability alignment, digital collaboration, and EP through composite indices. A combination of multivariate regression and artificial neural network (ANN) models was employed to test the hypothesized relationships and enhance predictive accuracy. Results reveal that sustainability‐oriented knowledge management practices significantly improve EP, particularly when supported by digital infrastructure. Regression analysis shows a stronger effect of CKM in sustainability‐aligned firms ( β = 0.3127, p < 0.01), while the ANN model ranked sustainability knowledge management (SKM) as the most significant predictor with a low mean absolute error (~0.15) and validation loss (~0.03). Digital knowledge sharing (DKS) and e‐working systems (EWS) were also found to be essential enablers, improving knowledge dissemination and enhancing employee learning, collaboration, and behavioral outcomes. Comparative analysis indicated that the ANN achieved strong validation fit mean absolute error (MAE≈0.15, validation loss ≈0.03) and, by capturing potential nonlinear interactions, serves as a complementary predictive tool alongside the fixed‐effects (FE) regressions, which provide the interpretable effect estimates. The study contributes to sustainable human resource and digital transformation literature and offers strategic insights for enterprises pursuing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly goals 4, 8, 9, and 17. Managers are advised to invest in integrated sustainability and digital knowledge infrastructures to boost employee capability and organizational resilience.