The interplay of social capital, digital transformation and sustainability for designing international marketing strategies: a systematic literature review

Abstract

Purpose This study systematically reviews the current literature on the role of social capital in adopting digital technologies and achieving sustainability. The current investigation identifies key insights across social capital, digital transformation and sustainability paradigms, and highlights how these findings guide business organisations in designing international marketing strategies.

Design/methodology/approach A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted using the PRISMA protocol. In total, 92 peer-reviewed articles out of 403 manuscripts, based on Scopus and Web of Science (WoS) database searches from 1980 to 2025, were identified and selected for conducting a thematic analysis and proposing a theoretical framework.

Findings The analysis of this SLR revealed three main themes: (1) social capital for digital transformation, (2) social capital for achieving sustainability and (3) social capital for both digital transformation and achieving sustainability. Several sub-themes were also synthesised under each theme. Key findings include how social capital permits sustained customer-oriented culture, inter-organisational trust and artificial intelligence-based social networks – critical aspects for designing international market strategies. A potential theoretical framework is also proposed to explain how social capital influences the adoption of digital technologies and the achievement of sustainability goals, and how firms can entrench these identified attributes into sustained knowledge management, improved strategic positioning and market-oriented innovation.

Originality/value This is the first study to propose a theoretical framework that connects social capital to digital transformation and sustainability in the context of international marketing. It offers practical insights for firms seeking to integrate social capital, digital technologies and sustainability initiatives into global strategy development.