RT Journal Article
T1 Decoupling in Sustainability Reporting: A Systematic Literature Review
A1 Cepêda, Catarina
A1 Monteiro, Albertina Paula Moreira
A1 Aibar Guzmán, Beatriz
K1 Bibliometric analysis
K1 CSR decoupling
K1 Literature review
K1 Sustainability reporting
AB 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.
PB Wiley
SN 1535-3958
YR 2025
FD 2025-04-25
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10347/42829
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10347/42829
LA eng
NO Cepêda, C., Monteiro, A.P. and Aibar-Guzmán, B. (2025), Decoupling in Sustainability Reporting: A Systematic Literature Review. Corp Soc Responsib Environ Manag, 32: 2988-3007. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.3114
NO This work is financed by Portuguese national funds through FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, under the project UIDB/05422/2020.
DS Minerva
RD 24 abr 2026