A bibliometric analysis of ESG literature: key themes, influential authors and future research directions

Purpose Environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into investment decisions have accelerated significantly in the dynamic world of modern finance. This study aims to explore the dynamic landscape of ESG literature using bibliometric analysis, providing a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of recent publications in well-regarded journal articles. Design/methodology/approach The research examined 764 documents from the Scopus database using bibliometric analysis. The study makes use of R Studio and VOSviewer. Performance analysis used R Studio, while VOSviewer software was used for science mapping. Findings The findings indicate that ESG is a growing area in sustainable finance, evident from the increasing number of publications and total citations. Most of the publications are from the USA. The most productive journals are the Journal of Business Ethics , along with Business Strategy and the Environment , and Buallay, A. stands out as the most influential author in the ESG field. Also, cluster analysis of bibliographic coupling identifies four key intellectual themes: ESG investing; ESG disclosures and integrated reporting; ESG performance and firm value; and corporate governance and ESG performance. Research limitations/implications The keyword search is solely focusing on the theme of the study. Further, other keywords taken along with ESG may provide distinct results. The cluster classification and keyword segmentation into themes may also be biased. Social implications The future research agenda in this field has the potential to influence transformative practices, shape policy discussions and contribute to a more sustainable and responsible global business environment. Originality/value The study conducts an extensive review of literature on ESG indices performance against the benchmark indices performance. The systematic review identified ESG indices performed better than the benchmark indices.