Intellectual capital and sustainable development: a systematic literature review

Abstract

Purpose

This paper investigates the literary corpus on the role of intellectual capital (IC) for the sustainable and innovative development of organisations. It provides a quantitative overview of the academic literature that constitutes this field. The paper discusses whether IC, through the implementation of knowledge management (KM) processes, can influence the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) towards the creation of sustainable business models (SBMs), which are outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030 agenda and adopted by all United Nations member states in 2015.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a database containing 45 publications in the English language with a publication date from 1990 to 2019 (October), a bibliometric analysis was conducted. Data on publications, journals, authors and citations were collected, re-checked and examined by applying bibliometric measures.

Findings

The bibliographic analysis identified that the research published on IC in the perspective of sustainability focusses mainly on the measurement of results, in terms of increased business performance. The results show that the IC is linked to the concept of long-term value. Therefore, the development potential of the IC is linked to the 2030 agenda for sustainable development (SD). These results also provide a framework for the literature on IC and SDGs by highlighting the connection with the EO to develop SBMs.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the literature on IC as a driver for SD. In more detail, it provides a systematic review of the literature on these topics under the umbrella of the SDG perspective.