Research in ESG and Sustainability: Bibliometric Mapping of the Domain

Abstract

The integration of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) into sustainability has become a popular topic in research and business, yet collaborative research on this topic remains relatively new and understudied. To gain a deeper understanding of the ESG landscape in business research and its impact on sustainability, this article aims to analyze the current literature, present the current state of knowledge, key trends, and future prospects for this topic, and provide an in-depth synthesis of all published research papers. This will provide valuable insights for researchers, the business community, and regulatory bodies, and open up alternative research paths for aspiring researchers.  Using  the  Scopus  database  for  the  period  (2014-2025),  we  found  that  1,888  final  articles  were published in English. After analyzing bibliometric performance indicators, such as the annual trend in the number of articles produced, countries, journals, authors, and research institutions, we arrived at the following set of results: a steady and noticeable increase in the number of published articles, especially since 2020, i.e., after the COVID-19 crisis. China is a leader in this field, and Sustainability Switzerland is the journal with the highest number of research contributions.  Regarding  research  institutions,  Sapienza  Università  di  Roma  from  Italy  is  the  best  contributor. Regarding authors, Buallay Amina Mohammed from Bahrain is the most published author. After mapping, using the co-occurrence  network  of   key  keywords,  four   main  clusters  related  to  this  topic  were   identified:  CSR  and Sustainability,  Risk  Management,  Financial  Performance,  and  Sustainable  Development,  Environmental,  and Innovation. This review concludes by presenting a roadmap that includes emerging research paths that can be explored in depth in future studies to promote better and more comprehensive integration to achieve sustainability and maximize corporate value.