Narrative Shift : How Business Media and Asset Managers Shape (and Escape) Social ESG

This thesis explores how business media and asset managers have communicated the socialdimension of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices between 2014 and 2024. Itfocuses on whether the narratives and their behaviours around social sustainability, have shifted,converged, or diverged over time. The study draws on Framing Theory, Agenda-Setting Theory,and Institutional Theory. And, through using qualitative content analysis, it examines how threemajor business media outlets and five of the world’s largest public asset managers have framedand prioritized key social ESG themes. A three-stage analytical framework guides the analysisby evaluating each actor’s behaviour, comparing the two cases and interpreting their actions inlight of institutional pressures. The findings suggest that business media have taken a moreactive role in shaping ESG discourse, while asset managers have primarily responded to externalexpectations, especially political and reputational risk. By examining how ESG language hasevolved, the study offers insights into how institutional and communicative dynamics may shapethe future of social sustainability.