IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i3p2020-d1042796.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Systematic Literature Review on ESG during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Riccardo Savio

    (Department of Law and Economics of Production Activities, La Sapienza University, 00185 Rome, Italy)

  • Edoardo D’Andrassi

    (Department of Business Studies, Roma Tre University, 00154 Rome, Italy)

  • Francesca Ventimiglia

    (Department of Business Administration and Marketing, Niccolò Cusano University, 00166 Rome, Italy)

Abstract

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues have been investigated by scholars from several points of view. Although the epidemic of COVID-19 is recent, numerous scholars have analyzed its effects on ESG, making it difficult to systematize current knowledge. This generates the risk that the discussion will become stale. This study aims to provide a systematic literature review able to examine the combination of ESG and COVID-19 outbreak, to understand what the academics discovered. Eighty-five studies were systematically reviewed. We used a systematic literature review which is the tool that can ensure that all relevant data from the topic under investigation are considered. This approach is considered as the most comprehensive and rigorous one because it allows the creation of the advancement of knowledge of the specific topic. We identified five classes plus a residual one that accommodate the main topics analyzed in the literature (investment and stock returns, ESG in specific industries, ESG rating, gender studies, ESG reporting, and other). Our research highlights that most of the studies have been focused on the first three topics, sometimes reaching different or opposite findings, while only few studies have been dedicated on the other topics. Therefore, we state the need for more research into the ESG/COVID-19 combination in the fields of gender diversity and ESG reporting, and for more research able to understand the different findings of the other three identified topics.

Suggested Citation

  • Riccardo Savio & Edoardo D’Andrassi & Francesca Ventimiglia, 2023. "A Systematic Literature Review on ESG during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-17, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:3:p:2020-:d:1042796
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/3/2020/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/3/2020/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Singh, Amanjot, 2020. "COVID-19 and safer investment bets," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 36(C).
    2. Hammed Afolabi & Ronita Ram & Gunnar Rimmel, 2022. "Harmonization of Sustainability Reporting Regulation: Analysis of a Contested Arena," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-26, May.
    3. James X. Zhan & Amelia U. Santos-Paulino, 2021. "Investing in the Sustainable Development Goals: Mobilization, channeling, and impact," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(1), pages 166-183, March.
    4. Gregory, Richard Paul, 2022. "ESG scores and the response of the S&P 1500 to monetary and fiscal policy during the Covid-19 pandemic," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 446-456.
    5. Kais Bouslah & Lawrence Kryzanowski & Bouchra M’Zali, 2018. "Social Performance and Firm Risk: Impact of the Financial Crisis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(3), pages 643-669, May.
    6. Adams, Carol A. & Abhayawansa, Subhash, 2022. "Connecting the COVID-19 pandemic, environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing and calls for ‘harmonisation’ of sustainability reporting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    7. Clark, John & Mauck, Nathan & Pruitt, Stephen W., 2021. "The financial impact of COVID-19: Evidence from an event study of global hospitality firms," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    8. Joanna Górka & Katarzyna Kuziak, 2022. "Volatility Modeling and Dependence Structure of ESG and Conventional Investments," Risks, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-25, January.
    9. Mauro Romano & Alessandro Cirillo & Christian Favino & Antonio Netti, 2020. "ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) Performance and Board Gender Diversity: The Moderating Role of CEO Duality," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-16, November.
    10. Grybauskas, Andrius & Stefanini, Alessandro & Ghobakhloo, Morteza, 2022. "Social sustainability in the age of digitalization: A systematic literature Review on the social implications of industry 4.0," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    11. repec:eme:aaaj00:09513579910270138 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Narinder Pal Singh & Priya Makhija & Elizabeth Chacko, 2021. "Sustainable investment and the COVID-19 effect - volatility analysis of ESG index," International Journal of Sustainable Economy, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 13(4), pages 357-368.
    13. Fabrizio Ferriani & Filippo Natoli, 2021. "ESG risks in times of Covid-19," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(18), pages 1537-1541, October.
    14. Kanamura, Takashi, 2021. "Risk Mitigation and Return Resilience for High Yield Bond ETFs with ESG Components," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    15. Sarfraz Mian & Wadid Lamine & Alain Fayolle, 2016. "Technology Business Incubation: An overview of the state of knowledge," Post-Print hal-02014389, HAL.
    16. Jessica Espinoza Trujano & Anne-Marie Lévesque, 2022. "Development finance institutions and the care economy: opportunities for building more resilient and gender-equitable economies," Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(3), pages 704-723, July.
    17. Zaghum Umar & Mariya Gubareva, 2021. "The relationship between the Covid-19 media coverage and the Environmental, Social and Governance leaders equity volatility: a time-frequency wavelet analysis," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(27), pages 3193-3206, June.
    18. Susanne Arvidsson & John Dumay, 2022. "Corporate ESG reporting quantity, quality and performance: Where to now for environmental policy and practice?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(3), pages 1091-1110, March.
    19. Jesús Manuel Palma-Ruiz & Julen Castillo-Apraiz & Raúl Gómez-Martínez, 2020. "Socially Responsible Investing as a Competitive Strategy for Trading Companies in Times of Upheaval Amid COVID-19: Evidence from Spain," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-13, July.
    20. repec:eme:aaaj00:aaaj-01-2015-1939 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Lan Sun & Garrick Small, 2022. "Has sustainable investing made an impact in the period of COVID-19?: evidence from Australian exchange traded funds," Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(1), pages 251-273, January.
    22. Mian, Sarfraz & Lamine, Wadid & Fayolle, Alain, 2016. "Technology Business Incubation: An overview of the state of knowledge," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 50, pages 1-12.
    23. del Rio, Marta & Infante, Juan & Gil-Alana, Luis A., 2021. "Gender Diversity Index. Measuring persistence," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    24. Lööf, Hans & Sahamkhadam, Maziar & Stephan, Andreas, 2022. "Is Corporate Social Responsibility investing a free lunch? The relationship between ESG, tail risk, and upside potential of stocks before and during the COVID-19 crisis," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(PB).
    25. Yoo, Sunbin & Keeley, Alexander Ryota & Managi, Shunsuke, 2021. "Does sustainability activities performance matter during financial crises? Investigating the case of COVID-19," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    26. Paola Paoloni & Paola Demartini, 2016. "Women in management: perspectives on a decade of research (2005–2015)," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 2(1), pages 1-7, December.
    27. Umar, Zaghum & Kenourgios, Dimitris & Papathanasiou, Sypros, 2020. "The static and dynamic connectedness of environmental, social, and governance investments: International evidence," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 112-124.
    28. Ilze Zumente & Jūlija Bistrova, 2021. "Do Baltic investors care about environmental, social and governance (ESG)?," Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, VsI Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, vol. 8(4), pages 349-362, June.
    29. Gillan, Stuart L. & Koch, Andrew & Starks, Laura T., 2021. "Firms and social responsibility: A review of ESG and CSR research in corporate finance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    30. Papathanasiou, Spyros & Dokas, Ioannis & Koutsokostas, Drosos, 2022. "Value investing versus other investment strategies: A volatility spillover approach and portfolio hedging strategies for investors," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    31. Robert Taylor, 2022. "Introduction and Overview," Contributions to Economics, in: Bernadette Andreosso-O'Callaghan & Serge Rey & Robert Taylor (ed.), Sustainable Development in Asia, pages 1-9, Springer.
    32. Sharma, Gagan Deep & Sarker, Tapan & Rao, Amar & Talan, Gaurav & Jain, Mansi, 2022. "Revisiting conventional and green finance spillover in post-COVID world: Evidence from robust econometric models," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    33. Demir, Ender & Danisman, Gamze Ozturk, 2021. "Banking sector reactions to COVID-19: The role of bank-specific factors and government policy responses," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    34. Sarfraz Mian & Wadid Lamine & Alain Fayolle, 2016. "Technology Business Incubation : An overview of the state of knowledge," Post-Print hal-02313371, HAL.
    35. Mustafa Hakan Eratalay & Ariana Paola Cortés Ángel, 2022. "The Impact of ESG Ratings on the Systemic Risk of European Blue-Chip Firms," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-41, March.
    36. Zengfu Li & Liuhua Feng & Zheng Pan & Hafiz M. Sohail, 2022. "ESG performance and stock prices: evidence from the COVID-19 outbreak in China," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-10, December.
    37. Chen, Chun-Da & Su, Ching-Hui (Joan) & Chen, Ming-Hsiang, 2022. "Understanding how ESG-focused airlines reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on stock returns," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    38. Guangyou Zhou & Lian Liu & Sumei Luo, 2022. "Sustainable development, ESG performance and company market value: Mediating effect of financial performance," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(7), pages 3371-3387, November.
    39. Caroline Flammer, 2015. "Does Corporate Social Responsibility Lead to Superior Financial Performance? A Regression Discontinuity Approach," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 61(11), pages 2549-2568, November.
    40. Greg Filbeck & Eric Robbins & Xin Zhao, 2022. "Social capital during the coronavirus pandemic: the value of corporate benevolence," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(13), pages 1460-1472, March.
    41. Félix Moya-Anegón & Zaida Chinchilla-Rodríguez & Benjamín Vargas-Quesada & Elena Corera-Álvarez & Francisco José Muñoz-Fernández & Antonio González-Molina & Victor Herrero-Solana, 2007. "Coverage analysis of Scopus: A journal metric approach," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 73(1), pages 53-78, October.
    42. Alexa Böckel & Jacob Hörisch & Isabell Tenner, 2021. "A systematic literature review of crowdfunding and sustainability: highlighting what really matters," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 71(2), pages 433-453, April.
    43. Pavlova, Ivelina & de Boyrie, Maria E., 2022. "ESG ETFs and the COVID-19 stock market crash of 2020: Did clean funds fare better?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 44(C).
    44. Amanjot Singh, 2022. "COVID‐19 and ESG preferences: Corporate bonds versus equities," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 22(2), pages 298-307, June.
    45. Takahashi, Hidenori & Yamada, Kazuo, 2021. "When the Japanese stock market meets COVID-19: Impact of ownership, China and US exposure, and ESG channels," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    46. Paul C. Godfrey & Craig B. Merrill & Jared M. Hansen, 2009. "The relationship between corporate social responsibility and shareholder value: an empirical test of the risk management hypothesis," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 425-445, April.
    47. Umar, Zaghum & Gubareva, Mariya & Tran, Dang Khoa & Teplova, Tamara, 2021. "Impact of the Covid-19 induced panic on the Environmental, Social and Governance leaders equity volatility: A time-frequency analysis," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    48. Giovanni Cardillo & Ennio Bendinelli & Giuseppe Torluccio, 2023. "COVID‐19, ESG investing, and the resilience of more sustainable stocks: Evidence from European firms," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 602-623, January.
    49. Elizabeth Demers & Jurian Hendrikse & Philip Joos & Baruch Lev, 2021. "ESG did not immunize stocks during the COVID‐19 crisis, but investments in intangible assets did," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(3-4), pages 433-462, March.
    50. Maurizio Massaro & John Dumay & James Guthrie, 2016. "On the shoulders of giants: undertaking a structured literature review in accounting," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 29(5), pages 767-801, June.
    51. Díaz, Antonio & Esparcia, Carlos & López, Raquel, 2022. "The diversifying role of socially responsible investments during the COVID-19 crisis: A risk management and portfolio performance analysis," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 39-60.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Salvatore Esposito De Falco & Raffaella Montera & Sabrina Leo & Francesco Laviola & Pietro Vito & Domenico Sardanelli & Gianpaolo Basile & Giulia Nevi & Raffaele Alaia, 2024. "Trends and patterns in ESG research: A bibliometric odyssey and research agenda," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(5), pages 3703-3723, September.
    2. Wu, Zihao & Gao, Jun & Luo, Chengdi & Xu, Hui & Shi, Guanqun, 2024. "How does boardroom diversity influence the relationship between ESG and firm financial performance?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 89(PB), pages 713-730.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gen‐Fu Feng & Han Long & Hai‐Jie Wang & Chun‐Ping Chang, 2022. "Environmental, social and governance, corporate social responsibility, and stock returns: What are the short‐ and long‐Run relationships?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(5), pages 1884-1895, September.
    2. Giuseppe Maria Bifulco & Riccardo Savio & Maria Federica Izzo & Riccardo Tiscini, 2023. "Stopping or Continuing to Follow Best Practices in Terms of ESG during the COVID-19 Pandemic? An Exploratory Study of European Listed Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-16, January.
    3. Perote, Javier & Vicente-Lorente, José D. & Zuñiga-Vicente, Jose Angel, 2023. "How reactive is investment in US green bonds and ESG-eligible stocks in times of crisis? Exploring the COVID-19 crisis," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    4. Eisenkopf, Jana & Juranek, Steffen & Walz, Uwe, 2021. "Responsible investment and stock market shocks: Short-term insurance and persistent outperformance post-crisis?," SAFE Working Paper Series 329, Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE.
    5. Yang, Junhua & Agyei, Samuel Kwaku & Bossman, Ahmed & Gubareva, Mariya & Marfo-Yiadom, Edward, 2024. "Energy, metals, market uncertainties, and ESG stocks: Analysing predictability and safe havens," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(PB).
    6. Staněk Gyönyör, Lucie & Horváth, Matúš, 2024. "Does ESG affect stock market dependence? An empirical exploration of S&P 1200 companies shows the divergent nature of E–S–G pillars," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    7. Bongiovanni, Alessio & Fiandrino, Simona, 2024. "Does firm environmental performance mitigate the market reaction to COVID-19 uncertainty?," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    8. Xu, Nana & Chen, Jiaqi & Zhou, Fangzhao & Dong, Qing & He, Zhifang, 2023. "Corporate ESG and resilience of stock prices in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    9. Alberto Barroso del Toro & Laura Vivas Crisol & Xavier Tort-Martorell, 2022. "Comparing the Impacts of Sustainability Narratives on American and European Energy Shareholders: A Multi-Event Study Analysing Reactions to News before and during COVID-19," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-18, November.
    10. Shahzad, Umer & Ghaemi Asl, Mahdi & Tedeschi, Marco, 2023. "Is there any market state-dependent contribution from Blockchain-enabled solutions to ESG investments? Evidence from conventional and Islamic ESG stocks," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 139-154.
    11. Lin, Xiang & Bali Swain, Ranjula, 2024. "Performance of negatively screened sustainable investments during crisis," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(PA), pages 1226-1247.
    12. Hamzeh F. Assous, 2022. "Saudi Green Banks and Stock Return Volatility: GLE Algorithm and Neural Network Models," Economies, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-18, October.
    13. Naeem, Muhammad Abubakr & Anwer, Zaheer & Khan, Ashraf & Paltrinieri, Andrea, 2024. "Do market conditions affect interconnectedness pattern of socially responsible equities?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(PA), pages 611-630.
    14. Lei, Heng & Xue, Minggao & Liu, Huiling & Ye, Jing, 2023. "Precious metal as a safe haven for global ESG stocks: Portfolio implications for socially responsible investing," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    15. Bax, Karoline & Sahin, Özge & Czado, Claudia & Paterlini, Sandra, 2023. "ESG, risk, and (tail) dependence," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    16. Secundo, Giustina & Rippa, Pierluigi & Cerchione, Roberto, 2020. "Digital Academic Entrepreneurship: A structured literature review and avenue for a research agenda," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    17. Goodell, John W. & Corbet, Shaen & Hou, Yang (Greg) & Hu, Yang & Oxley, Les, 2024. "Isolating defensive corporate ESG effects: Evidence from purely domestic anti-COVID-19 measures," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    18. Ann Susan Thomas & Ambili Jayachandran & Ajithakumari Vijayappan Nair Biju, 2024. "Strategic mapping of the environmental social governance landscape in finance – A bibliometric exploration through concepts and themes," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(5), pages 4428-4453, September.
    19. Iqbal, Najaf & Umar, Zaghum & Ruman, Asif M. & Jiang, Shaohua, 2024. "The term structure of yield curve and connectedness among ESG investments," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(PA).
    20. Yahya, Habeeb, 2023. "The role of ESG performance in firms' resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from Nordic firms," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:3:p:2020-:d:1042796. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.