Organisational Sustainability: A Literature Review

This study aims to review the existing literature on organisational sustainability to understand diverse
concepts related to organisational sustainability and its evolution. To achieve these objectives, the
researcher has reviewed more than one hundred and fifty peer reviewed journal articles related to
organisational sustainability that were published between 1987 and 2020. Findings of the literature
review confirmed that there were diverse definitions of organisational sustainability and that
organisational sustainability is in the process of evolution. Further, this review of literature confirmed
the importance of stakeholder engagement in sustainability related decision making at the
organisational level. The long term perspective has become a key concern when implementing
sustainability in organisations; it has, however, become one of the biggest sources of worry for
organisational leadership in this millennium as well. National cultural values and organisational culture
are also identified in the literature as influencing leadership decisions related to organisational
sustainability. Hence, this literature review confirmed that there are no best solutions or strategies in
achieving organisational sustainability, though managers should adopt holistic perspectives and
develop innovative solutions to deal with sustainability issues unique to their own organisations.
Therefore, it can be concluded that organisational leadership implemented according to a holistic
perspective would facilitate excellent results in establishing organisational sustainability. Future
research should be directed towards understanding organisational sustainability in a context specific
manner rather than using a generalised approach.