Human Capital, Digital Capability, and Triple‐Bottom‐Line Sustainability
Evidence From Global South Economies
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12305873 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Gang Peng (0000-0002-1465-1301, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University), Guangsheng Peng (Farabi International Business School Al‐Farabi Kazakh National University Almaty Kazakhstan), Ridwan Lanre Ibrahim (0000-0002-6429-2335, Advanced Research Centre European University of Lefke Mersin Turkey), Abdullah A Aljughaiman (0000-0002-6123-3671, Finance Department, Business School King Faisal University Al‐Hafouf Saudi Arabia, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-05 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Sustainable Development (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0968-0802 • E-ISSN: 1099-1719 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/sd.70768 |
| OpenAlex | W7134178846 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 33 |
Achieving balanced sustainable development remains a central global challenge, with repeated warnings from COP26 to COP28 revealing persistent imbalances across economic, environmental, and social pillars. This challenge is especially acute in the Global South, where rising human capital has not translated into corresponding environmental progress. This paper investigates whether digital capability serves as the activation mechanism that enables human capital to generate triple‐bottom‐line (TBL) sustainability. Drawing on a panel of 60 Global South economies from 2000 to 2022, we develop a capability‐activation framework in which human capital represents latent potential, digital capability functions as its operational catalyst, and institutions shape the magnitude of their combined effects. Using a multi‐layered econometric strategy—Fixed Effects with Driscoll–Kraay corrections, Common Correlated Effects Mean Group (CCEMG), Panel Threshold Regression (PTR), and Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR)—the study identifies strong and asymmetric capability dynamics. Human capital consistently enhances economic and social sustainability but exerts no independent effect on environmental performance. Digital capability emerges as the strongest driver of environmental sustainability, and PTR reveals a clear digital threshold above which human capital begins to reduce carbon intensity. MMQR demonstrates that this activation mechanism intensifies at higher sustainability quantiles, while temporal and regional robustness checks confirm its stability across the pre‐ and post‐SDG eras and across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The findings highlight that for the Global South, progress toward balanced SDGs depends not on isolated investments in education or technology but on strategically sequenced, mutually reinforcing advances in human capital, digital capability, and institutional governance
Human capital · Latin Americans · Panel data · Quantile · Quantile regression · Robustness (evolution · Social capital · Sustainability · Sustainable development · Economic and Technological Innovation · Energy, Environment, Economic Growth · Sociopolitical Dynamics in Nepal
Sustainalism
Threshold effects in non-dynamic panels
Innovation ecosystem based on low-carbon technology
Security risks from climate change and environmental degradation
Enhancing the contribution of higher education institutions to sustainable development research
Linking institutional quality to environmental sustainability
Business digitalisation as a driver of environmental and economic sustainability in micro, small, and medium‐sized enterprises
Institutionalized Organizations
| Highly cited | No |
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