Sustainability materiality research: A systematic literature review on methods, theories, and academic themes

Purpose: This systematic literature review (SLR) aims to examine the extent of academic knowledge on sustainability materiality research. There is no academic review on this field, therefore this study aims to close this research gap. Design/Methodology/Approach: The paper systematically reviews the existing literature on sustainability materiality research. Papers were qualitatively classified and analysed in accordance with theoretical underpinning, research methods, and academic themes of sustainability materiality research. Findings: The findings of the review show that scholarly work on sustainability materiality has increased exponentially since 2010s. In terms of research methods, scholars have delved into examining sustainability with content analysis techniques and qualitative approaches. A common theoretical foundation was missing, but an increasing number of articles have anchored to stakeholder theory. The academic themes have progressively enriched empirical evidence on the evaluation of materiality in sustainability information. Research implications: This review can be useful as an academic basis for opening avenues to strengthen theoretical and empirical research on new emerging issues on double materiality and dynamic materiality. Originality: The paper conducts the first SLR of academic knowledge on sustainability materiality research. Eight academics themes are proposed to classify sustainability materiality. Thus, it is an aid to future research in the area.