Knowledge Management, Green Innovation and Business Performance: A Bibliometric and Content Review

Abstract

This article reviews research on knowledge management, green innovation and business performance and responds to a fragmented literature in which the three concepts have developed mainly through bilateral streams. Drawing on the resource-based view, knowledge-based view, absorptive capacity theory and natural-resource-based view, the review interprets knowledge management as a strategic knowledge capability, green innovation as a possible bridge through which knowledge is translated into environmentally oriented action, and business performance as a multidimensional outcome. Bibliographic records were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection for 2016-2025 and restricted to English-language journal articles. Four parallel searches identified 211 records on knowledge management - green innovation, 1,431 on knowledge management - business performance and 1,007 on green innovation - business performance, while an independent integrated query identified 60 records addressing all three domains. The 60-record dataset was analysed in VOSviewer for country, publication-source, cited-source and author-keyword patterns and was interpreted through structured content synthesis. The integrated domain remains dispersed across countries, journals and themes. China, Spain and Pakistan are the most visible author-affiliation countries; the Journal of Knowledge Management, Business Process Management Journal and Business Strategy and the Environment are prominent publication sources; and knowledge management, green innovation, sustainability and firm performance form the thematic core. Three research streams are identified: knowledge management as a basis for innovation and organisational capability, green innovation as a source of performance and sustainability outcomes, and an emerging integrated knowledge management - green innovation - business performance stream. Evidence for the complete pathway remains heterogeneous, so green innovation is interpreted as a plausible, context-dependent bridge rather than a universal mediator. The study contrasts the large bilateral literatures with the smaller integrated domain and connects bibliometric patterns with conceptual flows and performance-measurement issues. The review is limited to Web of Science, English-language journal articles and a 2016-2025 window with partial 2025 coverage; its conceptual synthesis is author-developed and does not test causal relationships.