The Facets of Sustainable Consumption and Digitalization: A Systematic Literature Review

In the new millennium, the nexus between sustainable consumption and digitalization has been recognized as crucial for reaching sustainable development. Even though the past literature has emphasized the importance of digitalization in achieving sustainability, its scholarly inquiry remains immature. Further, the majority of the existing studies frequently have a narrow focus on a single concept, such as challenges businesses face in digitalization. The holistic view of sustainability and digitalization has been very limitedly discussed, such as the way of digitalization that enables reaching sustainability. Thus, it requires a holistic view of the nexuses of the concepts in reviewing different venues. Accordingly, the purpose of this article is to explore the possible avenues of the nexus phenomenon of digitalization and sustainability through reviewing literature and its different applications. Academic research on this phenomenon has proliferated significantly in the recent past and has extended to the last decade, covering only until 2024. Accordingly, the current study presents a literature review of published articles in selected scientific journals during the past 12 years, since 2013. This study used the systematic literature review methodology and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines, which are legitimate approaches. Following the predetermined inclusion criteria, 151 articles from the selected database were included for review, and finally, through the review, five research lines for further studies on digitalization towards sustainability were identified.