Making sense of sustainability: A decade of research and emerging directions for the future

Abstract

Orientation: Corporate sustainability is an evolving construct shaped by multiple interpretations and contextual meanings. This plurality affects managerial action and underscores the need for studies to deepen theoretical and practical understanding.
Research purpose: This study aims to synthesise the scholarly debate through a structured scoping review at the intersection of sensemaking and corporate sustainability. The systematic synthesis of a decade of scholarship provides a firmer conceptual grounding for future research.
Motivation for the study: Despite growing interest, research at the intersection of organisational sensemaking and corporate sustainability remains fragmented and conceptually underdeveloped. This study addresses this gap by mapping thematic patterns, identifying silos, and exposing overlooked perspectives.
Research design, approach and method: Based on 104 peer-reviewed articles (2014–2024), this structured scoping review uses thematic analysis and bibliometric techniques to trace the field’s evolution, drawing on Scopus and ScienceDirect for cross-disciplinary synthesis.
Main findings: Three dominant thematic clusters around which sensemaking processes in corporate sustainability are articulated are revealed: (1) Responsibility, (2) Leadership, and (3) Strategy. An integrative conceptual framework is proposed, offering an interpretive lens to advance practice and future scholarship. The findings expose conceptual silos and underexplored empirical contexts as avenues for future research.
Practical/managerial implications: Management could utilise the study’s findings to provide actionable insights for aligning strategic intent with sustainable practice, especially in conditions of ambiguity.
Contribution/value-add: By presenting a framework that uncovers corporate sustainability interpretations in practice, the study not only advances scholarship in an underexplored domain but also highlights key theoretical tensions and outlines a future research agenda.