Social learning, innovation, and sustainability: The search for directions beyond a systematic literature review

The literature frames social learning as a critical concept when searching for sustainability and innovation. Its prominent position in various studies has raised questions about the role played by such a theory and the possibility of new research perspectives. Therefore, this paper analyzed future research directions in social learning, sustainability, and innovation through a systematic literature review. By using four guiding questions, this qualitative study conducted a systematic literature review in the Web of Science, Scopus, and Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) databases using the search terms "social learning," "sustain*," and "innovation." to identify, evaluate, and interpret relevant available studies. For the analysis, hermeneutic units were created to construct relationships between papers of different perspectives and subjects, namely social learning for sustainability and innovation. The results demonstrated that instrumentalizing social learning theory has been essential to promoting sustainability and innovation. Regarding innovation, social learning creates opportunities for innovation because it motivates change and questions rules and norms. Studies on social learning for sustainability were the most representative although few studies have focused on what individuals become after an intervention based on social learning; they only applied the concept and demonstrated the processes of carrying out interventions, who participates, and how and why it happens. Additionally, the highlighted changes are not ontological, but epistemological, even though social learning and innovation seem to intertwine to change and promote sustainability. This study's contribution lies in the theoretical perspective since a kind of taxonomy was produced with the results from the databases, enabling advances for future research. The uniform treatment attributed to innovation was a limitation, refraining from differentiating its various nuances. Nevertheless, the originality of this article is the intersection between two theoretical perspectives - social learning and innovation - in the common and complex field of sustainability.