The impact of digital inequality in achieving sustainable development: a systematic literature review

Abstract

PurposeDigital inequality is considered one of the leading causes of socioeconomic disparities nowadays and a barrier to sustainable development. However, a dearth of empirical research has examined the impact of digital inequality in attaining sustainable development. This study aims to systematically review the scientific publications on the impact of digital inequality in achieving sustainable development.Design/methodology/approachThe preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA, 2020) guidelines were followed to carry out the systematic literature review (SLR) using Scopus, Web of Science, ProQuest and Google Scholar electronic databases. Numerous inclusion/exclusion criteria were employed to obtain the most relevant literature. Finally, 54 articles were included to prepare the final database and qualitative synthesis was performed using 12 variables.FindingsWhile the findings show that there has been a substantial expansion of scientific publications on the focused area in recent years, there is still a lack of empirical and comparative studies; less focus on the offline benefits of online activities were also demonstrated by the results. Moreover, SDGs 04 and 05 were identified as the predominant goals in the literature. Findings further highlighted the importance of an accurate conceptualization of digital inequality.Originality/valueIn general, this study investigates the level of impact of digital inequality on the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. Moreover, it shows the evolution of scientific publications on digital inequality in terms of its contribution when achieving sustainable development.

Conceptualizing sustainability in the context of ICT. A literature review analysis.

“…It is pointed out that the economic and ecological perspectives, referred to as eco-effectiveness and eco-efficiency goals, overlap [16]. This view is valid in the more recent literature reviews; however, the importance of a holistic approach to sustainability in ICT is emphasized, recognizing the interconnectedness of economic, social [18], and environmental pillars. It is widely acknowledged that these pillars cannot be considered in isolation and that social aspects, such as the social divide caused by digitalization [18,19], are of utmost importance, although it is conceded that social implications of digitalization need further research [3,6,7,25,27].…”

“…This conceptual and terminological under-specification can also be confirmed in the literature reviews analyzed for this paper. However, the theme that has emerged in the context of terminological ambiguity is the need to align the concepts of digitalization and ICT, digital sustainability, and digital transformations (B#5) [7,8,18,25,29,31].…”

“…Reviews that address a specific industry or sector, for instance, textile industry, or fishery, were discarded, too. Two reviews were incorporated in the analysis despite showing a clear tendency towards a specific sustainability pillar [8,18]. However, those literature reviews actively tried to integrate their focus area into the greater context of sustainability and ICT.…”

“…There is agreement that all three pillars are intrinsically interconnected and cannot be considered in isolation [9,27]. Particularly, social aspects such as the social divide caused by digitalization are thematized [18,19]. Three papers mention that there is comparably little attention in management literature on the topic [6,7,26].…”

“…The terminological discussion is further characterized by its focus on integrating environmental sustainability principles into business models and organizational strategies, as well as the alignment be-tween organizational strategy and digitalization. It is highlighted that a deeper understanding of the environmental and social implications [18] of digitalization is needed. Therefore, a public goods approach is suggested to consider deep social, economic, and environmental impacts in the context of digitalization and the ubiquitous use of technology [27].…”