From knowledge structure to implementation: a dual bibliometric study of ESG and the SDGs

Abstract

This study examines how environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices operationalise sustainable tourism development and contribute to the achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), addressing persistent gaps in the theoretical evolution and practical implementation of ESG frameworks. A systematic bibliometric analysis was conducted on 189 peer-reviewed articles indexed in the Web of Science database, published between 2013 and 2024. The analysis combined co-citation analysis to map established theoretical foundations and bibliographic coupling to identify emerging knowledge frontiers. The analysis identified five theoretical clusters shaping the intellectual structure of ESG research in tourism, with ESG–financial performance integration and stakeholder governance emerging as dominant themes. Eight emerging knowledge frontiers were mapped through bibliographic coupling, highlighting integrated implementation strategies, technology-enabled ESG innovation and cross-cultural adaptation as priority research directions. The findings give tourism executives, destination managers, industry associations and policy makers a structured basis for prioritising ESG action. They indicate where the evidence base is most consolidated, in financial performance integration and in measurement and reporting, and where it remains fragmented, in cross-cultural adaptation and regenerative models, so that investment and standard-setting effort can be directed accordingly. This study contributes a bibliometrically informed implementation framework that links the intellectual structure of ESG research in tourism to specific SDG targets, giving researchers and practitioners a traceable account, of which theoretical foundations underpin which sustainability pathways. The dual design, combining co-citation and bibliographic coupling, maps the established foundations of the field and its emerging frontiers within a single analysis.