A bibliometric perspective: three stages of green knowledge management thematic evolution in business literature

Abstract

Purpose Green knowledge management (GKM) has become a more prominent research topic because of its ability to balance business sustainability, performance and society's well-being. The purpose of this paper is to study how GKM literature evolved before and after two major events: the introduction of sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the first conceptualization of GKM. In this paper, GKM is holistically examined following the stages of the knowledge management cycle, a framework for organizational knowledge-processing phases. Design/methodology/approach This study performed a bibliometric analysis of 1,274 papers related to GKM from 1995 until January 2024. Findings Over the three decades, this research outlined the intertwined relationships between core themes in the domain such as knowledge management in the context of corporate social responsibilities, sustainable development (SD), competitive advantage and so on, and popular theories. GKM evolved from an “industrial and technical view” of knowledge management to a more emerging perspective of a “social process.” Emerging themes were identified such as green innovation, information security or organizational learning sub-themes with key technologies like block-chain, big data analytics and artificial intelligence. Future research can explore themes such as green knowledge integration, green entrepreneurship, green supply chain and green knowledge integration capabilities. Practical implications This review offers practitioners a holistic picture of GKM to tackle emerging environmental concerns and increase businesses' competitive advantages. This study provides insights into the future practices of GKM, incorporating emerging technological advancement, to gain green intellectual capital and build dynamic capabilities for sustainability. Originality/value To the best of authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to provide a comprehensive picture of the GKM literature, from its earliest forms of corporate social responsibility and SD until the introduction of SDGs, and in combination with the evolution of knowledge management cycle stages.