Digital Technologies and SME Sustainability: Enablers, Barriers and Performance Outcomes in SMEs: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) hold the key to the development of emerging economies but their ability to make sustainability transitions is inhibited by ongoing resource shortages, institutional weaknesses, and differences in management capability that make models of large-scale enterprises mostly unsuitable. The current paper is a systematic literature review of 52 peer-reviewed articles (2015-2025) that have been performed following PRISMA 2020 guidelines that syntheses the existing evidence on how digital technologies can help SMEs to achieve sustainability in an emerging economy setting. The review builds an all-in-one conceptual framework of consolidated fragmented scholarly efforts to draw on a thematically varied evidence base, such as Industry 4.0, big data analytics, blockchain, artificial intelligence, circular economy transitions, green manufacturing, and sustainability reporting. There are five major enablers namely: organisational leadership and entrepreneurial orientation; digital technologies as catalytic mediators; green human resource management; structured knowledge management; and institutional support. In line with this, there are five categories of barriers where financial constraints turn out the most widespread, then there is managerial resistance, lack of technical capability, poor regulatory frameworks and supply chain obscurity. Results show that digital technologies, especially big data analytics, have quantifiable positive impacts on environmental and social performance, as well as economic and operational performance. This review pushes the theoretical knowledge of digital sustainability adoption and provides evidence-based recommendations in the process of navigating sustainable digital change in emerging markets.