The Nexus Between Digital Finance, Automation, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Objectives: Evidence Based on a Bibliometric Analysis

The main purpose of this study was to conduct a bibliometric analysis of scientific knowledge and trends in modern finance. To this end, the analysis was based on the keywords: “finance”, “automation”, and “ESG”. The analysis aimed to provide theoretical insights into the economic and financial implications of automation and its role in achieving ESG objectives. From a methodological standpoint, bibliometric research was conducted on 21 September 2025. It involved analysing a total of 16,500 scientific articles published between 1974 and 2026 in two databases: The Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus. The Bibliometrix R 5.2.0 version tool was used to generate visualisations. Thematic mapping, three-field plotting, keyword mapping, and clustering were the main methods used to analyse the associations between finance, automation, and ESG principles. The study’s results showed an average annual increase in publications of approximately 3.80% and 2.50%, respectively, while international collaborations between researchers have become increasingly prominent in recent years. At the same time, the co-occurrence network analysis identified five key thematic clusters in the Web of Science Core Collection and three in Scopus. From a comparative perspective, these clusters highlight the most significant connections between environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance, corporate social responsibility (CSR) impact, financial performance, economic growth, sustainable development, and the implications of the automation process. From a bibliometric point of view, this research contributes to a better understanding of the multiple digital transformations specific to the current financial framework, generating possible future research directions on the significant role of automation in financial, environmental, and social performance. Furthermore, automation is a critical component of the digital future of finance. Analysing and investigating the causal relationships between automation and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles will necessitate new areas of study within the financial sphere.