Decoupling in Sustainability Reporting: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Decoupling in sustainability reporting raises concerns about the credibility of sustainability disclosures. This study conducts a bib-liometric review of 74 articles from 44 journals indexed in the Web of Science up to 2023, tracking key trends. The findings revealtwo phases in research: an erratic growth from 2012 to 2017, followed by a surge from 2018 to 2023, with almost half of the publica-tions in the last two years. Regulatory frameworks, particularly Directive 2014/95/EU, have notably influenced decoupling practises.Researchers use different proxies to measure decoupling, diverse theoretical lenses and empirical approaches, with China emerging asthe most studied country. This study identifies five main research streams: characterisation, drivers, mitigating factors, impacts, andalternative views. Complementary analysis of recent publications confirms this trend, with the largest number of articles being pub-lished in 2024. The study contributes to the debate on the implications of decoupling for corporate transparency and accountability.