Knowledge Management Impact on Corporate Social Responsibility: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

In the past few years, in the current organisational context, the impact of Knowledge Management (KM) on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become increasingly important for companies in all sectors, as many of them are acting on a larger scale to be competitive in the global marketplace. In fact, KM helps generate sustainable innovation through inclusive CSR implementation practices (Shih, 2024). Companies are required to have a correct approach to Sustainable Knowledge Management (SKM) in order to practice the CSR model. SKM practices promote responsible and ethical knowledge sharing between different stakeholders (Alghamdi et al, 2023) and include several benefits. Promoting innovation and facilitating continuous learning, they ensure the effective and efficient use of KM. That is why this trend focuses on the development and application of innovative technologies. Based on that, this study aims to understand how KM influences CSR considering the role of Technology. The methodological approach is based on a systematic literature review (Tranfield et al, 2003). Particularly, this research was conducted in the three international and multidisciplinary databases – Google Scholar, Scopus and Web of Science – using query strings given by combinations of the keywords: "Knowledge Management", "Corporate Social Responsibility," "CSR," and "Tech*". Subsequently, the resulting scientific documents were selected following the PRISMA guidelines (Moher et al, 2015; Xiao and Watson, 2019), and the data were examined using inductive content analysis. In this article, the authors draw on current literature to identify plausible gaps and discuss future implications of a new perspective. Although the topic is relevant, the findings suggest that academics have many opportunities to examine it.