IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/corsem/v32y2025i3p2988-3007.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Decoupling in Sustainability Reporting: A Systematic Literature Review

Author

Listed:
  • Catarina Cepêda
  • Albertina Paula Monteiro
  • Beatriz Aibar‐Guzmán

Abstract

Decoupling in sustainability reporting raises concerns about the credibility of sustainability disclosures. This study conducts a bibliometric review of 74 articles from 44 journals indexed in the Web of Science up to 2023, tracking key trends. The findings reveal two phases in research: an erratic growth from 2012 to 2017, followed by a surge from 2018 to 2023, with almost half of the publications in the last two years. Regulatory frameworks, particularly Directive 2014/95/EU, have notably influenced decoupling practises. Researchers use different proxies to measure decoupling, diverse theoretical lenses and empirical approaches, with China emerging as the most studied country. This study identifies five main research streams: characterisation, drivers, mitigating factors, impacts, and alternative views. Complementary analysis of recent publications confirms this trend, with the largest number of articles being published in 2024. The study contributes to the debate on the implications of decoupling for corporate transparency and accountability.

Suggested Citation

  • Catarina Cepêda & Albertina Paula Monteiro & Beatriz Aibar‐Guzmán, 2025. "Decoupling in Sustainability Reporting: A Systematic Literature Review," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(3), pages 2988-3007, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:corsem:v:32:y:2025:i:3:p:2988-3007
    DOI: 10.1002/csr.3114
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.3114
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/csr.3114?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    More about this item

    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:wly:corsem:v:32:y:2025:i:3:p:2988-3007. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1002/(ISSN)1535-3966 .

    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.