Visible Trends, Submerged Dynamics: A Multi‐Layered Science Mapping of Corporate Sustainable Development Goals Reporting

ABSTRACT This study conducts a bibliometric analysis and science mapping to trace the intellectual structure of corporate sustainability reporting concerning the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Reviewing 121 Web of Science articles published in 2015–2024, we overlay bibliographic coupling with co‐citation and co‐word analysis. Drawing on an integrative framework combining legitimacy, institutional and governance perspectives, we examine two propositions: that institutional contexts are reflected in thematic specialisation and that the field is moving from a rationale‐driven towards an implementation‐driven phase. The evidence is consistent with both. The analysis identifies five thematic clusters and three semantic domains, tracing a shift from adoption and legitimation towards disclosure quality, governance and measurement and shows that cluster membership is associated with the institutional setting of the underlying research. It also identifies under‐explored areas, including SMEs, sectoral heterogeneity, assurance and the near‐absence of research on market‐driven regimes. Bibliometric proximity indicates intellectual closeness rather than causal relationships.