Sustainability Management of Corporate Digitalization: A Qualitative Exploration of Managers' Perceptions in Light of Bounded Rationality

ABSTRACT

Companies are digitalizing at a rapid pace, presenting both opportunities and challenges for corporate sustainability. Managers play a critical role in sustainable digitalization, yet little is known about decision‐making at this interlinkage. This qualitative study explores how sustainability and IT managers in Belgium perform this role and how decision‐making takes place, drawing on 21 semi‐structured interviews and a content analysis of sustainability reports. Results are analyzed through the lens of bounded rationality, which enables a critical understanding of decision‐making constraints and avenues forward. The findings reveal diverse managerial activities focused mainly on direct sustainability impacts, with limited attention paid to indirect impacts, trade‐off management, and decision‐support tools. Subsequent analyses underscore the need for integrated digital sustainability management, with decision‐making guidelines and organizational capacity‐building targeting sustainable digitalization. Overall, this study provides the first empirical inquiry into the sustainability management of corporate digitalization as well as critical insights into the managerial actions, motivations, and barriers shaping this transition.