Review of Corporate Environmental Disclosure Research: A Bibliometric Approach

Abstract

The study identifies influential aspects of corporate environmental disclosure (CED) studies and constructs future agendas for CED research. We reviewed 560 articles on CED from 215 journals published between 1982 and 2020, employing a bibliometric model. Our insights are three-fold. First, we identified three core streams of CED research: 'legitimization of environmental hazards via environmental disclosures', 'the role of environmental accounting in firms’ environmental development', and 'integrating ESG into the GRI guidelines'. Second, we also deployed a thematic map that classifies CED themes into four categories: niche theme (e.g., institutional theory and environmental management system), motor themes (e.g., stakeholder engagement), emerging/declining themes (e.g., legitimacy theory), and basic/transversal themes (e.g., voluntary and mandatory CED). Third, we highlighted essential CED journals, articles, keywords, authors, affiliations, and countries. This review offers several implications for policymakers, academics and businesses.

Keywords: bibliometric analysis, CSR Reporting, Environmental Disclosures, Environmental Reporting, ESG and Sustainability Disclosures, Non-Financial Reporting.