Impact of ESG practices and intellectual capital on competitiveness and internationalization: A systematic literature review

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Abstract

This paper investigates the role played by environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practice, together with intellectual and human capital, to improve firm competitiveness and influence the level of internationalization. As per Ng et al. (2020), in the contemporary global economy, ESG frameworks serve as reputational assets as well as strategic tools to assist companies in controlling the financial and regulatory risks while positioning in line with international normative standards. Following the PRISMA method, 44 peer-refereed papers published from 2019 to 2024 were systematically reviewed using the systematic literature review (SLR) on JSTOR and Science Direct databases. The results show that strong ESG performance contributes to market reputation, risk resilience, and financial stability. Moreover, strategic investments in human and intellectual capital expand the potential of a company to innovate and obtain useful resources from the global market. Thus, firms that can integrate compliance with ESG principles and sound management of capital are usually more likely to achieve sustainable growth. The study adds to the growing literature on responsible competitiveness and insights for policy makers, corporate strategy makers, and international investors interested in negotiating the intersection of sustainable and worldwide corporate strategy.

Keywords: ESG, Firm Capital, Competitiveness, Internationalization

Authors’ individual contribution: Conceptualization — H.Y., S.T.O., and N.B.R.; Methodology — H.Y. and S.T.O.; Writing – Original Draft — H.Y. and N.B.R.; Investigation — S.T.O. and N.B.R.; Funding — H.Y.; Resources — H.Y. and S.T.O.; Supervision — S.T.O.

Declaration of conflicting interests: The Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

JEL Classification: F23, L25, M14, O34

Received: 20.02.2025
Revised: 11.06.2025; 10.10.2025
Accepted: 20.10.2025
Published online: 22.10.2025

How to cite this paper: Yan, H., Ong, S. T., & Ruza, N. B. (2025). Impact of ESG practices and intellectual capital on competitiveness and internationalization: A systematic literature review [Special issue]. Corporate Governance and Sustainability Review, 9(3), 297–308. https://doi.org/10.22495/cgsrv9i3sip10