Aug 2026· International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research· 0 citations· 25 references
TL;DR
A Digital CSR Transformation Framework (DCTF) is developed that explains how digital technologies enhance CSR effectiveness through greater transparency, stakeholder integration, and scalable impact.
Abstract
Purpose:
Despite the growing convergence of digital transformation and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), existing research remains fragmented and lacks a theoretically grounded explanation of how digital innovations systematically drive meaningful social change. This study addresses this gap by developing a Digital CSR Transformation Framework (DCTF) that explains how digital technologies enhance CSR effectiveness through greater transparency, stakeholder integration, and scalable impact.
Methodology:
The research is a theory-based narrative review, which incorporates the knowledge in the CSR, digital transformation, and sustainability literature. Relying on the stakeholder theory and digital innovation viewpoint, the paper integrates the existing literature to create a conceptual framework of how digital technologies redefine CSR practices.
Findings:
The study identifies three core mechanisms through which digital innovation transforms CSR: (1) data-driven transparency, (2) digitally enabled stakeholder engagement, and (3) scalable social impact models. All these mechanisms reposition CSR as a dynamic value creation process that is not based on compliance. However, the results also reflect on the structural tensions associated with digital inequality, ethical risks, and governance constraints.
Research Limitations:
As a narrative review, this study lacks empirical validation of the proposed framework. Implying the Digital CSR Transformation Framework (DCTF), future research must test the framework in various industries and institutional situations.
Practical Implications:
The framework offers a systematic way of incorporating digital technologies into CSR strategies for managers so that the social impact can be more measurable, transparent, and scalable.
Social Implications:
Though digital innovations can potentially democratize CSR and accelerate the attainment of the goals of sustainability, the absence of digital accessibility adds to the threat of inequality that reinforces existing social disparities.
Value:
This study contributes in three aspects:
1. introduces a new integrative framework (DCTF),
2. offers a synthesis of CSR and digital innovation literature based on a theory, and
3. transforms the discussion of technology adoption to technology-enabled social value creation.
The analysis demonstrates that within the current regulatory landscape, Corporate Digital Responsibility (CDR) has evolved from a voluntary ethical framework into a critical prerequisite for organizational legitimacy, and non-financial reporting is repositioned as a strategic instrument for building trust and ensuring long-term institutional viability in a hyper-connected era.
M. Ursu· The Annals of the University...· 0 citations
It is argued that harnessing the full potential of digital social innovation requires holistic strategies and participatory approaches to foster equitable and sustainable social change in the digital era.
V. Veena· International Journal of Rec...· 0 citations
By promoting healthier digital practices, organisations can improve employee well-being and effectively use digital tools, ultimately enhancing competitiveness in a dynamic landscape.
Dilek Şahin Yomralıoğlu, Beyza Toksoy· Istanbul Journal of Economic...· 0 citations
Digital social innovation (DSI), the use of digital technologies by citizens, civil society organizations, social enterprises, and public institutions to develop novel solutions to social and environmental problems, has evolved over the past decade and a half as a distinct field of research and practice at the intersection of technology studies, innovation studies, and sustainability science. Current study explores the interdisciplinary literature on DSI and its relationship to sustainability, in its triple-bottom-line sense of environmental, social, and economic dimensions. It traces the conceptual roots of DSI in the broader social innovation literature and in information-systems research on digital innovation, reviews the major theoretical frameworks, including a nascent multidimensional framework spanning digital technology, innovation process, and sustainability focus to connect digital innovation to sustainable development, and examines empirical evidence on how digitally enabled initiatives, from open data commons and citizen science to platform cooperatives, civic technology, telemedicine, and precision agriculture, contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The research engages critically with the limits of DSI's contribution, including the digital divide, the environmental footprint of digital infrastructure itself, the phenomenon of data colonialism, and the tendency toward technological solutionism, before setting out a twelve-pathway research agenda and highlights practical implications for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers. DSI offers a genuine, if bounded and unevenly distributed, set of tools for advancing sustainability, and its future contribution depends less on the sophistication of the technology involved than on the governance arrangements, funding ecosystems, and power relations within which that technology is embedded.
Mamadayupova Vasila Shonazarovna· Digital Social Sciences· 0 citations
This study investigates the role of digital transformation (DT) in corporate governance (CG) by analysing 50 articles selected using PRISMA guidelines from the Web of Science (WOS) database. Although the findings are fragmented, most studies suggest that digital technologies can enhance transparency, strengthen internal control functions, and support decision-making processes. However, the literature also highlights emerging tensions, such as ethical risks, legal limitations, and organisational barriers that may compromise the full benefits of digitalisation in CG. The study offers practical implications for board members and managers, highlighting the need for greater digital literacy and ethical awareness. It also provides policy implications, suggesting that effective implementation of DT in CG requires not only new rules but also strengthened institutional capacity, improved regulatory literacy, and clear frameworks to balance technological innovation with accountability. This study highlights the tension between transparency and new forms of digital opacity. Furthermore, the analysis calls for a reconsideration of the boundaries of traditional “agency” relationships, showing how DT may transform traditional monitoring into a system in which human oversight and digital tools coexist and interact.
Cristina Cersosimo, F. Rubino· Reviews of Management Scienc...· 0 citations
Digital transformation and digital leadership are widely cited antecedents of sustainability. Yet the micro-level mechanisms by which they operate, and the boundary conditions that amplify them, remain theoretically underspecified. Drawing on resource-based theory and upper-echelon theory, this study proposes and tests a moderated mediation model. Green innovation transmits the effects of digital transformation and digital leadership on the triple-bottom-line dimensions of sustainability performance (economic, social, environmental), while green organizational culture amplifies those transmission pathways.
Hypotheses were tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) with a two-step approach (445 employees from ISO 14001-certified textile-sector SME’s), ensuring robust validation of the proposed relationships.
The findings reveal that green innovation serves as a significant mediator between digital transformation and digital leadership concerning sustainability performance. Additionally, green organizational culture is identified as a moderator that influences the relationship between green innovation and sustainability performance.
The study extends RBT and UET by demonstrating that green innovation is the operative capability through which digital resources and leadership cognitions translate into triple-bottom-line outcomes. This pathway has previously been assumed but untested in resource-constrained emerging-market SMEs.
The study encourages managers to adopt sustainable strategies that integrate digital transformation and leadership practices to foster firm development in an environmentally friendly manner. By promoting green innovation and cultivating a supportive organizational culture, SMEs can enhance their sustainability outcomes.
This research highlights the importance of sustainable practices in the textile industry, which is crucial for addressing environmental challenges and promoting responsible business operations in emerging economies.
This study contributes to the existing literature by integrating resource-based theory and upper-echelon theory to develop a quantitative model that addresses the gap in understanding how digitalization can lead to sustainability performance. By focusing on the specific context of Pakistani textile SMEs, it provides new insights into the interplay between digital leadership, digital transformation and sustainability practices.
