The imperative and research directions of sustainable project management

There have been a considerable number of studies that underscored the need to integrate sustainability into the sustainable project management concept. However, there is a limited study that examines the significance of the concept and its future research directions. The present study aimed to investigate the imperative of the concept and identify a number of potential research themes. The research methodology used in this study is a narrative review that relies on literature analysis in the fields of sustainability, project management, and sustainable project management. The results provide numerous research topics that have been studied by academics, and further studies are required to advance the development of sustainable project management research. The research findings contribute to academics in providing research directions in order to observe new research themes. In a practical perspective, this study can assist practitioners in understanding the importance of embedding environmental, social, and economic aspects of sustainability into the process of managing projects. [Display omitted] •The importance of SPM concept is highlighted.•A narrative review is used to analyse the literature.•Knowledge gap in SPM field of research is provided.•Potential research themes in SPM subject are proposed.