Bridging the Silos of Digitalization and Sustainability by Twin Transition: A Multivocal Literature Review

TL;DR

This paper systematically reviews how digitalization and sustainability can be simultaneously advanced through twin transition, emphasizing its importance for sustainable development and providing guidance for researchers and practitioners.

Contribution

It offers a comprehensive multivocal literature review clarifying twin transition concepts and identifying research directions to support sustainable digital transformation.

Findings

Clarified key concepts of twin transition

Identified gaps in current research and practice

Provided leads for future innovation efforts

Abstract

Twin transition is the method of parallel digital and sustainability transitions in a mutually supporting way or, in common terms, "greening of and by IT and data." Twin transition reacts to the growing problem of unsustainable digitalization, particularly in the ecological sense. Ignoring this problem will eventually limit the digital adeptness of society and the problem-solving capacity of humankind. Information systems engineering must find ways to support twin transition journeys through its substantial body of knowledge, methods, and techniques. To this end, we systematically survey the academic and gray literature on twin transition, clarify key concepts, and derive leads for researchers and practitioners to steer their innovation efforts.