Abstract

The aim of this work is to understand the role of the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) paradigm in the corporate assessment by investors and the use of this paradigm as guide for managerial decision-making process by corporations. A review of the international literature is provided using five different couples of keywords on Thomson Reuters ISI Web of Knowledge research engine. The literature production increased only after the 2007 crisis and the median year of the results is 2011, thus highlighting just a recent attention to themes as ethics and corporate social responsibility. Main limitations are related to the classic limitations of literature reviews, as the choice of number and type of keywords and journals, the resulting selection of studies, the choice of relevant outcomes and the interpretation, generalization and application of results. The study provides both theoretical and practical implications: a complete review of contributions on the theme is provided; then, some insights in investors and corporations behaviors through the ESG lens, thus suggesting a more ethical and responsible behavior in investment decision-making processes.

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