Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability. A Bibliometric Analysis of Their Interrelations

Víctor Meseguer-Sánchez,Valentín Molina-Moreno,Gabriel López-Martínez,Francisco Jesús Gálvez-Sánchez

doi:10.3390/su13041636

Abstract

Traditional economic system has brought important negative implications regarding environmental development, as well as an unequal distribution of wealth, which has led to ecological disasters and population imbalances. Considering the existence of unequal opportunities and access to resources in a global economy, it would be relevant to study the interrelations between the concepts of Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Global and multifactorial issues require the review of fieldworks and their connections. From this perspective, the present research aims to analyze the relationships between the concepts of Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability in order to understand the advances of current scientific production and future lines of research. In this way, there is a considerable increase of interest in this line of research, highlighting García-Sánchez as the most productive author, Business, Management and Accounting as the most studied topic, and Sustainability Switzerland as the most productive journal. The country with the most publications and citations is the United States, and the most productive institution is Universidad de Salamanca. Future lines of research should focus on the social dimension and its possibilities in the field of Circular Economy. Finally, a line of research is proposed that also includes the proposals from the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

Highlights

The concepts of Sustainability and sustainable development have acquired greater importance over time, as society as a whole has become more aware of its impact on the environmental scenario
This review is key in order to settle the field before we address our bibliometric analysis
In Results and Discussion, we develop interrelations we found through the bibliometric analysis displayed

Summary

Introduction

The concepts of Sustainability and sustainable development have acquired greater importance over time, as society as a whole has become more aware of its impact on the environmental scenario. The World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) describes the concept of sustainable development as a response to ‘the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs’ [1]. Development Goals (UN, 2015) [4], which offers a catalog of goals and instruments that define the human rights-based approach to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). These advances have brought Sustainability into the mission of numerous organizations and 4.0/).

Objectives

Results

Conclusion