Dynamic Capabilities and Sustainability: Recognising the Past, Comprehending the Present, and Shaping the Future

ABSTRACT

Dynamic capabilities have become central to how organisations respond to increasing pressure to embed sustainability in their strategic agendas. Despite growing scholarly attention, understanding remains fragmented about which dynamic capabilities are mobilised, how they evolve, and how they interact in relation to organisational sustainability. This study conducts a systematic literature review, based on a Scopus search conducted in December 2025 and covering articles published from 2007 to 2024. The final corpus comprises 52 articles. The results reveal a marked increase in recent contributions and a diversity of conceptual and empirical approaches. However, they also indicate fragmentation across the literature, particularly regarding the capabilities involved, the mechanisms linking capabilities and sustainability, and the contextual conditions under which these relationships are examined. In response, this review synthesises the evidence into an integrative framework of sustainability‐oriented dynamic capabilities and identifies propositions and research directions for subsequent empirical testing.