ESG and Digital Transformation: Bibliometric Review

Digital technologies are increasingly being used to create new business processes or modify existing ones. They enable the adaptation of established business strategies to the challenges of the modern economy. They are also increasingly seen as tools that can provide stakeholders with free access to up-to-date environmental, social and governance (ESG) data on individual economic entities. Considering the growing importance of digital technologies in economic processes and the consideration of ESG issues, the article defines two research objectives. The main objective of the analyses was to identify the main research areas addressed in scientific studies referring to ESG and digital transformation issues. An additional objective of the research was to identify research gaps that may provide a direction for future research, which are related to the issues of the labour market, green economy, ESG and digital transformation. The indicated objectives were achieved based on original conclusions drawn from a review of scientific publications in the Scopus database. A systematic literature review method was applied. Based on a constructed bibliometric query, 228 scientific publications from 2021–2024 were identified in which the issues of ESG and digital transformation were simultaneously addressed. During the analyses, 17 main research areas were identified that were addressed in scientific studies referring simultaneously to ESG and digital transformation issues. The necessity to undertake research on the impact of digital transformation in the field of ESG on the creation of green jobs and the growth of green self-employment was emphasised. Attention was also drawn to the issue of the green skills gap.