Assessing the role of natural resource utilization in attaining select sustainable development goals in the era of digitalization

Purpose: The objective of this study is to conduct a comprehensive review of the existing literature in order to examine how digital technologies are used to effectively utilize natural resources. Design/Methodology/Approach: The paper employs a two-level analytical approach that includes bibliometric analysis and an integrative literature review comprising of mechanical analysis and manual interpretation of 138 publications from the Web of Science (WoS) database. Findings: The findings identify the most influential articles, and sources on the subject based on their publication, citation, and importance to the intellectual network; additionally, the study sheds light on the subject's intellectual structure (thematic analysis), which is supported by seven major clusters focusing on 'water resource management,' environmental impact,' economic and social impact,' technological innovation and digitalization,' circular economy,' alternative energy resources,' and 'energy resource management'. Originality: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first integrative review of its kind that provides a thorough examination of the literature on the natural resource utilization in digital era in attaining select SDGs. We conducted an inductive analysis and built aggregate dimensions from the study's core subjects and themes using keyword co-occurrence and thematic analysis, which led to a conceptual framework for integrating natural resource utilization and SDGs. Our conceptual framework synthesizes how innovation, digitization, and technology transfer and dissemination contribute to resource management and sustainable use, achieving SDGs.