Jul 2026· Sustainable Development Insights· 0 citations· 36 references
Abstract
Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosure has become an increasingly important research area due to growing demands for corporate transparency, sustainable business practices, and responsible investment decisions. This study aims to examine the development, intellectual structure, and emerging research trends in ESG disclosure literature using a bibliometric analysis approach. Data were collected from the Scopus database by identifying relevant publications related to ESG disclosure, sustainability reporting, and corporate sustainability. The collected documents were analyzed using VOSviewer to perform keyword co-occurrence analysis, citation analysis, co-authorship analysis, institutional collaboration analysis, and country collaboration mapping. The findings reveal that ESG disclosure research has experienced substantial growth and is primarily focused on themes related to ESG practices, sustainability reporting, corporate social responsibility, financial performance, stakeholder theory, and corporate governance. Influential studies indicate that ESG disclosure plays an important role in enhancing corporate value, improving transparency, reducing information asymmetry, and strengthening stakeholder relationships. The thematic evolution analysis further demonstrates a transition from conventional sustainability reporting toward emerging research areas involving artificial intelligence, machine learning, carbon disclosure, ESG performance measurement, and sustainable investment. The collaboration analysis highlights the dominant contributions of countries such as China, the United States, the United Kingdom, India, and Italy, reflecting the global and interdisciplinary nature of ESG disclosure research. This study contributes to the existing literature by mapping the knowledge structure of ESG disclosure and identifying future research opportunities related to digital ESG assessment, regulatory harmonization, and sustainable corporate value creation.
The importance of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosure has been gaining prominence owing to the growing sustainability concerns across the globe. The objective of this study is to analyze the intellectual structure, evolution of research, and trends emerging in ESG disclosure literature. Data have been gathered from the Scopus database on the basis of the use of suitable keywords for ESG disclosure, sustainability reporting, and corporate sustainability. Bibliometric analysis techniques such as publication trend analysis, citation analysis, keyword co-occurrence analysis, thematic evolution analysis, density visualization, and collaboration network analysis have been performed using VOSviewer. Results show that there is a notable trend in the area of ESG disclosure literature owing to increased adoption of sustainability standards and regulations as well as sustainable investments. It has been found that the major themes in the area of ESG disclosure include sustainability reporting, ESG, sustainable development, corporate governance, and ESG performance. Furthermore, recent research trends have shifted toward emerging issues such as ESG regulation, greenwashing, sustainable finance, firm value, and investor responses. Citation analysis identifies mandatory sustainability reporting, ESG performance, governance mechanisms, and the financial implications of ESG disclosure as the primary intellectual foundations of the field. Collaboration analysis demonstrates that ESG disclosure research has expanded globally, with significant contributions from countries such as the United States, India, Italy, Indonesia, and European nations. This study contributes to the ESG literature by mapping the current research landscape, identifying influential contributions, and highlighting future research opportunities related to ESG standardization, reporting credibility, digital sustainability reporting, and sustainable corporate strategies.
L. Judijanto· West Science Social and Huma...· 0 citations
This study aims to examine the development and integration of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) into financial statement analysis using a hybrid approach that combines bibliometric analysis and a Systematic Literature Review (SLR). The study analyzes Scopus-indexed journal articles published between 2015 and 2025 to map publication trends, dominant themes, the intellectual structure, and the evolving direction of ESG research. The findings reveal that ESG research has grown significantly and become increasingly integrated into mainstream accounting and finance literature. The major research themes include ESG reporting, non-financial disclosure, IFRS, assurance, risk management, and corporate value creation. The SLR findings indicate that ESG is no longer regarded as supplementary information but has evolved into an analytical dimension that enhances the assessment of corporate performance, risk, reporting quality, and sustainability. ESG integration is driven by regulatory pressure, reporting standardization, governance quality, information credibility, and the growing demand from stakeholders for transparent information. This study contributes conceptually by emphasizing the importance of an integrated financial statement analysis framework that combines financial and non-financial information to support higher-quality decision-making.
Gregorius Jeandry, Zainuddin Zainuddin, Amin Dara et al.· EKUITAS (Jurnal Ekonomi dan...· 0 citations
This study aims to examine the development, intellectual structure, and emerging research trends in the field of local government financial reporting through a bibliometric analysis approach. The study utilizes scientific publications indexed in the Scopus database and applies bibliometric techniques using VOSviewer to analyze publication trends, citation performance, keyword co-occurrence, co-authorship networks, institutional collaboration, and country contributions. The findings indicate that research on local government financial reporting has experienced significant development, with major research focuses centered on financial reporting, public sector accounting, transparency, accountability, and government financial management. Citation analysis identifies influential studies that emphasize voluntary financial disclosure, governmental accounting reform, IPSAS adoption, and e-government as important foundations in strengthening public sector accountability. The keyword analysis reveals that recent research directions have expanded toward sustainability, risk management, earnings management, and digital transformation, demonstrating a shift from conventional reporting practices toward broader governance and accountability perspectives. Furthermore, collaboration analysis shows that research activities are dominated by countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, and Indonesia, although international collaboration remains concentrated among specific research networks. This study contributes to the existing literature by providing a comprehensive mapping of knowledge development and identifying future research opportunities in local government financial reporting, particularly regarding technological innovation, sustainability-oriented reporting, and institutional reform in public sector financial governance.
L. Judijanto, Yendri Deswin· West Science Accounting and...· 0 citations
This study investigates the evolution and intellectual structure of research linking corporate social responsibility (CSR), environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices, financial performance and financial analyst behavior. It aims to identify influential contributions, thematic clusters, and emerging trends in this interdisciplinary field.
A bibliometric analysis was conducted using data retrieved from the Scopus database covering the period 1993–2023. The final dataset included 568 documents. Biblioshiny (R package Bibliometrix) was used for descriptive statistics, while VOSviewer was employed for science mapping, including co-citation, co-word, and collaboration networks. Thematic evolution was also examined across two time periods to capture the dynamics of the field.
Results reveal that while CSR, ESG, financial performance, and analyst coverage are increasingly studied, the literature remains fragmented. Dominant research streams focus on firm value implications of CSR, ESG disclosure practices and the role of financial analysts in shaping corporate sustainability. Emerging areas include ESG assurance and analyst bias.
This study is the first to apply bibliometric methods to examine the intersection of sustainability, financial performance, and analyst behavior. It provides a structured overview of the field, identifies knowledge gaps and proposes a research agenda for scholars, investors and regulators.
Nesrine Bedoui, Ayman Ajina· EuroMed Journal of Business· 0 citations
Developments in sustainability issues are prompting companies to integrate Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) aspects into their accounting and reporting practices as a means of enhancing transparency, accountability, and responsibility towards stakeholders. This study aims to analyse developments in ESG disclosure within corporate accounting and reporting practices using a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) approach. The study employs a qualitative method, examining academic articles sourced from the Google Scholar database. Literature selection was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, followed by content analysis and validation through source triangulation. Research findings indicate that ESG disclosure has driven a shift in accounting practices from a shareholder-centric to a stakeholder-centric approach, improved the quality of reporting through transparency, credibility and the relevance of information, and strengthened the confidence of investors and stakeholders. On the other hand, the implementation of ESG still faces challenges in the form of regulatory fragmentation, differences in reporting standards, limitations in human resource capabilities, and technological readiness. Therefore, regulatory harmonisation, the strengthening of ESG reporting standards, and the enhancement of human resource capacity and the utilisation of digital technology are required to support a more effective and sustainable implementation of ESG.
Marisa Christy Neno, Maria Regina Sofie Daneswari· Ilmu Ekonomi Manajemen dan A...· 0 citations
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure is attracting the attention of standard setters, regulatory bodies, academics, and practitioners. This interest stems from the evolution of ESG disclosure standards—notably, the new sustainability standards developed by the International Sustainability Standards Board. While considering the opportunities that these new standards offer for future research, this study sheds light on the roles of the key corporate governance pillars involved in the ESG disclosure process, as documented in previous research. A content analysis of 181 articles published between 2009 and 2024 focuses on the roles of three main pillars in ESG disclosure: management, audit committees, and external auditors. Our analysis shows that the role of management stands out most, whereas research remains limited on the roles of the audit committee and external auditors. Our results highlight the roles of these corporate governance pillars in the ESG disclosure process and point to future research opportunities. Our study also notes a growing interest in ESG disclosure research and calls on practitioners and policymakers to strengthen corporate governance mechanisms, while encouraging the adoption of the new ESG disclosure standards.