This review examines how digital transformation mediates the relationship between dynamic capabilities and sustainability performance in higher education institutions. The analysis focuses on six capability domains: sensing, seizing, reconfiguring, learning, integrating, and coordinating. Using the PRISMA 2020 protocol, searches were conducted on Scopus, Web of Science, IEEE Xplore, and Google Scholar for studies published between 2020 and 2025. A total of 4,850 records were identified, of which 55 met the eligibility criteria for synthesis. Data extraction connects theoretical perspectives, measurement approaches, and empirical evidence on indirect effects to evaluate the consistency and strength of the mediation pathway from capabilities through transformation to sustainability performance. Among these studies, four reported full mediation, six partial mediation, indicating that digital transformation consistently serves as the operational mechanism that converts dynamic capabilities into measurable outcomes. The mediating effect is strongest where leadership commitment, governance maturity, staff skills, and interoperable digital infrastructures are present, and weakest where legacy systems, fragmented policies, or skill shortages persist. Reported transformation routines include data harmonization, platform governance, process redesign, and analytics integration, which collectively enhance sustainable performance. The review integrates the Dynamic Capabilities Theory with the Resource-Based View and the Technology–Organization–Environment framework to clarify boundary conditions for effective mediation and to guide future research on sustainable digital transformation in higher education.
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Almutairi et al. (2025) studied this question.
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