Unlocking the Potential of Cloud Computing for Sustainable Business Operations: A Systematic Review of Antecedents, Advantages and Challenges

The current state of research on the adoption of cloud computing (CC) is characterized by a lack of comprehensive reviews and classifications of existing studies. This systematic review addresses this gap by proposing a novel framework for CC adoption that integrates core influential antecedents, potential advantages, and challenges in sustainable business operations. Specifically, the framework links antecedents (inputs) to processes (positive outcomes/potential advantages), ultimately contributing to sustainable performance and resource efficiency (outputs). Using the Web of Science and Scopus databases, we selected 67 journal articles on CC adoption, published from 2011 to 2025. This study encompasses bibliometric and thematic analyses. Bibliometric analysis revealed a growing interest in publishing research on CC from various countries, with different sectors emphasized in pioneering journals. It also demonstrated a diverse approach, including methodologies, tools, techniques, and theories. Thematic analysis identified 24 antecedents—spanning perceived innovation-related, technological, organizational, and environmental—along with six potential advantages and six challenges influencing CC adoption, ultimately aiding sustainable business operations. Challenges are conceptualized as moderating variables in the adoption process. The findings contribute to theory by clarifying the interplay between adoption drivers, advantages, and challenges, and to practice by offering managers a diagnostic tool to facilitate CC adoption for improved efficiency and sustainable business performance.