Organizational Capabilities for Sustainability‐Oriented Innovation in Multi‐Stakeholder Networks: An Integrative Framework and Future Research Agenda

ABSTRACT

Organizational capabilities have become imperative for stakeholders to realize sustainability‐oriented innovation in multi‐stakeholder networks, where diverse stakeholders collaborate to address complex sustainability challenges. Yet, the literature remains fragmented, lacking a clear and integrative understanding of which organizational capabilities are required and how they jointly support sustainability‐oriented innovation. To address this fragmentation, we conduct a systematic literature review of 54 articles and synthesize existing literature into an integrative multilevel framework drawing on the dynamic capabilities and ecosystem perspectives. The framework conceptualizes 17 capabilities across macro‐, meso‐, and micro‐levels and across the higher‐order dynamic capability categories of sensing, seizing, and reconfiguring. Our analysis particularly highlights network orchestration capabilities at the macro‐level, collaboration capabilities at the meso‐level, and knowledge management capabilities at the micro‐level. The study further proposes a future research agenda focused on system‐level capability interdependencies and identifies four specific domains through which these interdependencies can be examined.