IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ora/journl/v34y2025i2p347-357.html

Esg Assessment And Reporting: A Bibliometric Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Matteo FOCARACCi

    (Finance Department, Doctoral School of Economics and Business Administration, Timisoara, Romania)

  • Karinne-Alexandra RADU

    (Accounting Department, Doctoral School of Economics and Business Administration, Timisoara, Romania)

Abstract

Within the past two decades, ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) dimensions transitioned from voluntary corporate initiatives to a regulated context fuelled by frameworks such as the UN’s Principles for Responsible Investment (2006) and the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Standard (2022). The paper aims to analyse how the literature developed over time in respect of ESG assessment and reporting within the last two decades, focusing mainly on how the trends shifted in time, but also how the key themes involving these key concepts progressed throughout the studied period. The article used bibliometric analysis of scientific periodicals from Web of Science database between 2004 and the current period. The scientific papers selected by the keyword plus function, searching by „ESG and assessment or reporting” were exported for processing in the R Studio (bibliometrix package) computer program. The results of the analysis show an increase in the publication counts coupled with the changing focus of the research which indicates the relevant role that ESG factors play in promoting sustainable business practices.

Suggested Citation

  • Matteo FOCARACCi & Karinne-Alexandra RADU, 2025. "Esg Assessment And Reporting: A Bibliometric Analysis," Annals of Faculty of Economics, University of Oradea, Faculty of Economics, vol. 34(2), pages 347-357, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:ora:journl:v:34:y:2025:i:2:p:347-357
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://anale.steconomiceuoradea.ro/en/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Matteo-FOCARACCi.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hachenberg, B. & Schiereck, D., 2018. "Are green bonds priced differently from conventional bonds?," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 109709, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
    2. Aria, Massimo & Cuccurullo, Corrado, 2017. "bibliometrix: An R-tool for comprehensive science mapping analysis," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 959-975.
    3. repec:eme:aaaj00:aaaj-04-2015-2044 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. repec:eme:aaaj00:09513570610709872 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Chen, Zhongfei & Xie, Guanxia, 2022. "ESG disclosure and financial performance: Moderating role of ESG investors," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    6. Florian Berg & Julian F Kölbel & Roberto Rigobon, 2022. "Aggregate Confusion: The Divergence of ESG Ratings [Corporate social responsibility and firm risk: theory and empirical evidence]," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 26(6), pages 1315-1344.
    7. Robert G. Eccles & Ioannis Ioannou & George Serafeim, 2014. "The Impact of Corporate Sustainability on Organizational Processes and Performance," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(11), pages 2835-2857, November.
    8. Samuel Drempetic & Christian Klein & Bernhard Zwergel, 2020. "The Influence of Firm Size on the ESG Score: Corporate Sustainability Ratings Under Review," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 167(2), pages 333-360, November.
    9. Rob Gray, 2006. "Social, environmental and sustainability reporting and organisational value creation?," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 19(6), pages 793-819, November.
    10. Jeremy Galbreath, 2013. "ESG in Focus: The Australian Evidence," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 118(3), pages 529-541, December.
    11. Dominique Diouf & Olivier Boiral, 2017. "The quality of sustainability reports and impression management," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 30(3), pages 643-667, March.
    12. Britta Hachenberg & Dirk Schiereck, 2018. "Are green bonds priced differently from conventional bonds?," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 19(6), pages 371-383, October.
    13. Avramov, Doron & Cheng, Si & Lioui, Abraham & Tarelli, Andrea, 2022. "Sustainable investing with ESG rating uncertainty," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(2), pages 642-664.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ann Susan Thomas & Ambili Jayachandran & Ajithakumari Vijayappan Nair Biju, 2024. "Strategic mapping of the environmental social governance landscape in finance – A bibliometric exploration through concepts and themes," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(5), pages 4428-4453, September.
    2. Fiorillo, Paolo & Meles, Antonio & Ricciardi, Antonio & Verdoliva, Vincenzo, 2025. "ESG performance and the cost of debt. Evidence from the corporate bond market," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    3. Fiordelisi, Franco & Ricci, Ornella & Santilli, Gianluca, 2023. "Environmental engagement and stock price crash risk: Evidence from the European banking industry," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    4. Zhang, Dongna & Dai, Xingyu & Wang, Qunwei, 2025. "Do green assets enhance portfolio optimization? A multi-horizon investing perspective," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 57(5).
    5. Xiaoyan Xu & Hong Zhao, 2024. "An Empirical Study on ESG Evaluation of Chinese Energy Enterprises Based on High-Quality Development Goals—A Case Study of Listed Company Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(15), pages 1-22, August.
    6. Caterina Lucarelli & Sabrina Severini, 2024. "Anatomy of the chimera: Environmental, Social, and Governance ratings beyond the myth," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(5), pages 4198-4217, July.
    7. Jian Zhou & Xiaodong Lei & Jianglong Yu, 2024. "ESG rating divergence and corporate green innovation," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(4), pages 2911-2930, May.
    8. repec:rjr:romjef:v::y:2025:i:3:p:68-88 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Huang, Yujun, 2024. "Do ESG ETFs provide downside risk protection during Covid-19? Evidence from forecast combination models," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    10. Dunbar, Kwamie & Treku, Daniel & Sarnie, Robert & Hoover, Jack, 2023. "What does ESG risk premia tell us about mutual fund sustainability levels: A difference-in-differences analysis," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    11. Valeria D’Amato & Rita D’Ecclesia & Susanna Levantesi, 2021. "Fundamental ratios as predictors of ESG scores: a machine learning approach," Decisions in Economics and Finance, Springer;Associazione per la Matematica, vol. 44(2), pages 1087-1110, December.
    12. Zhang-Hangjian, Chen & Mengqing, Xu & Fei, Ren & Xiong, Xiong, 2025. "SDG performance and stock returns: Fresh insights from China," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    13. Kurbus, Barbara & Rant, Vasja, 2025. "A legal origins perspective on ESG rating disagreement," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    14. Nakagawa, Kei & Morita, Keisuke & Sakemoto, Ryuta, 2025. "Stochastic ESG scores and nonpecuniary ESG preferences: An extension to CAPM," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    15. Mascia Bedendo & Giacomo Nocera & Linus Siming, 2023. "Greening the Financial Sector: Evidence from Bank Green Bonds," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 188(2), pages 259-279, November.
    16. Diana Elena VASIU, 2024. "Esg Rates Divergence On The Emerging Markets In The European Union," Studies in Business and Economics, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Faculty of Economic Sciences, vol. 19(2), pages 274-289, August.
    17. Sudha Mathew & Sheeja Sivaprasad, 2024. "An empirical analysis of corporate sustainability bonds," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(4), pages 3299-3316, May.
    18. Ali, Amjad & Usman, Muhammad & Ahmad, Khalil, 2025. "Environmental Risks and Sovereign Credit Ratings: Evidence from Developed and Developing Economies," MPRA Paper 127543, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Wang, Lei & Sha, Yifan & Li, Yue & Wang, Tongyu, 2025. "The double-edged effects of the ESG rating on analyst forecast performance," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    20. Cini, Federico & Ferrari, Annalisa, 2025. "Towards the estimation of ESG ratings: A machine learning approach using balance sheet ratios," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(PB).
    21. Jin Zhu & Fei Huang, 2023. "Transformational Leadership, Organizational Innovation, and ESG Performance: Evidence from SMEs in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-23, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ora:journl:v:34:y:2025:i:2:p:347-357. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catalin ZMOLE The email address of this maintainer does not seem to be valid anymore. Please ask Catalin ZMOLE to update the entry or send us the correct address (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/feoraro.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.