Integrating ESG in business: Opportunities and risks through a systematic and bibliometric analysis

Abstract The integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) aspects in organizational activities has become a priority; more and more companies are taking ESG criteria into account in order to successfully manage global challenges and remain competitive. In this context, this article combines a systematic literature review and a bibliometric review in order to provide an overview of the opportunities and risks associated with ESG features, based on relevant articles in the Scopus database. The distribution of articles by year, country, author, journal, and the links that exist between the keywords in the analyzed articles are described in detail in the article. The results indicate a significant increase in interest in ESG research during the period 2021–2024. Moreover, the analyses revealed that the inclusion of ESG aspects at the organizational level can contribute to reducing the risks faced by companies as well as to increasing opportunities. Also, the analysis of the most significant articles in the literature revealed the interdisciplinary nature of ESG criteria; their approach within organizations is not optional, but a necessity for companies to become resilient. Thus, this article represents an important resource for researchers who want to analyze the ESG – risks – opportunities relationship at the organizational level because this study provides an overview of the current situation, highlighting the main gaps as well as future research directions.