Revisiting sustainability performance: a review of definitions, conceptualizations, theoretical perspectives, and future research agenda

Abstract

This study systematically reviews and synthesizes contemporary scholarship on sustainability performance (SP) to clarify its conceptual foundations, dimensions, and theoretical underpinnings across multiple sectors. The review aimed to examine how sustainability performance has been defined, operationalized, and applied, while identifying key research themes and emerging directions with implications for health and sanitation projects. Using established systematic literature review (SLR) protocols, 302 peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2020 and 2025 were analyzed. Studies were categorized by conceptualization, sectoral focus, theoretical orientation, and methodological design. The findings reveal that SP is predominantly framed through the Triple Bottom Line (economic, environmental, social) and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) frameworks, with increasing integration of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators. The most represented sectors include corporate management, manufacturing, construction, agriculture, energy, and tourism, while healthcare and sanitation remain significantly underexplored. Commonly applied theories include Stakeholder Theory, Institutional Theory, Legitimacy Theory, Resource-Based View, Dynamic Capabilities, and Sustainability Transitions Theory. Thematic synthesis identifies four dominant research clusters: measurement frameworks, sectoral applications, drivers and barriers, and links to resilience and long-term competitiveness. Overall, the review integrates fragmented perspectives, advances conceptual clarity, and proposes a future research agenda emphasizing context-sensitive, socially responsive, and project-based sustainability, particularly within public health and sanitation systems that underpin community resilience and inclusive development.