A blended perspective on digital mastery and sustainable firm performance in emerging economies: A conceptual paper

Holistic relationship of digital transformation to sustainable firm performance appears conceptually underdeveloped. With special attention to the mediating role of organizational capabilities (OC) and the moderating influence of organizational size (OS), this concept paper attempts to develop a conceptual framework that examines how digital mastery (DM), conceptualized as the integration of both technological and leadership capabilities, influences triple bottom line performance (TBL-P) across economic, environmental, and social dimensions. Through the identification, analysis, and synthesis of existing literature across the domains of digital transformation, sustainability, and organizational behaviour, the research aims to build a blended conceptual model by combining insights from the resource-based view, contingency theory, and modern productivity paradox using a narrative literature review methodology. Based on the synthesized conceptual themes, DM is unlikely to directly improve TBL-P. The relationship seems to be contextually dependent, mediated by organizational capabilities that allow businesses to convert digital investments into significant results. In addition, the relationship appears to be moderated by organizational size, which produces various implementation-related structural advantages and constraints. While acknowledging that results may differ significantly across organizational contexts and unfold unevenly over time, this study offers a blended conceptual model that positions organizational capabilities as crucial mediators and organizational size as a crucial boundary condition. This model lays the groundwork for future empirical research in resource-constrained, emerging economy settings, and suggests that successful digital transformation for sustainability requires simultaneous investment in technological infrastructure and leadership development.