Bibliometric and systematic literature review of employee sustainable performance

Abstract Employee sustainable performance (ESP) has emerged as a fragmented construct at the intersection of employee performance and sustainability. This review synthesizes and evaluates the ESP literature to clarify its conceptual, theoretical, and methodological foundations and to move beyond predominantly descriptive overviews. Drawing on a combined bibliometric and systematic review of 21 Scopus-indexed empirical studies published between 2017 and 2025, the study analyses definitions, dimensional structures, theoretical underpinnings, measurement practices, and the roles of antecedents, mediators, and moderators. Findings show that ESP research is a small but growing field, geographically concentrated in Asian and Western service contexts and strongly reliant on self-reported, cross-sectional survey designs. Conceptually, three dominant streams are identified, namely trait-based, situation-based, and process-oriented perspectives, which imply different mechanisms for sustaining individual performance. Across studies, ESP is operationalized through fourteen dimensions, grouped into three higher-order families: behavioral performance, health-related sustainability, and attitudinal or motivational states. This pattern reveals the absence of a shared ontology and a consistent measurement logic. The review advances the human resource management literature in three ways. It systematizes the conceptual ontology of ESP by applying consistent labels across the review and by specifying how alternative conceptualisations map onto these three perspectives. It evaluates methodological quality through bibliometric indicators and a structured appraisal of research designs and measurement approaches. It derives a future research agenda that prioritizes multidimensional scale development, integrated use of established theoretical frameworks, longitudinal and multilevel designs, and empirical expansion to underrepresented regions and sectors. The study provides a basis for more cumulative theory building and for HRM practices that seek to align sustainable performance with employee well-being over time.