Sustainable corporate governance: A structured literature review of the past 10 years

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Abstract

The aim of this work is to provide a systematic literature review (SLR) on the relationship between corporate governance (CG) and sustainability. Nowadays, this interconnection appears evident more than ever, thanks to the emergence of sustainable behaviors, logics, and ethical implications within CG. According to the analyzed literature, this connection is referred to as sustainable CG, aiming to provide a range of monitoring, advisory, and incentive mechanisms designed to ensure responsible business management. To highlight this relationship, we examined and reviewed the 50 most cited academic sources on the topic, within the timeframe 2014–2025, using the authoritative scientific database Scopus. Our findings, classified under “Temporal distribution of sources”, “Distribution of citations”, “Average citations per publication”, “Keywords analysis”, and “Purpose, results and implications”, offer both theoretical and practical insights in outlining the characteristics and current and prospective trends of research in this field. Specifically, the study highlights that CG and sustainability, when integrated into corporate logics, generate long-term consolidated economic benefits. This occurs as a direct outcome of enhanced corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies, gender diversity policies, and integrated reporting activities.

Keywords: Corporate Governance, Sustainability, Gender Diversity, Integrating Reporting, ESG

Authors’ individual contribution: Conceptualization — M.T., S.A., T.B., and F.C.; Methodology — M.T., S.A., T.B., and F.C.; Software — M.T., S.A., T.B., and F.C.; Validation — M.T., S.A., T.B., and F.C.; Formal Analysis — M.T., S.A., T.B., and F.C.; Investigation — M.T., S.A., T.B., and F.C.; Resources — M.T., S.A., T.B., and F.C.; Data Curation — M.T., S.A., T.B., and F.C.; Writing — M.T., S.A., T.B., and F.C.; Visualization — M.T., S.A., T.B., and F.C.; Supervision — M.T. and S.A.

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

JEL Classification: G30, G34, M14, M4, Q56

Received: 11.02.2025
Revised: 13.05.2025; 21.07.2025; 10.09.2025
Accepted: 22.09.2025
Published online: 24.09.2025

How to cite this paper: Tutino, M., Arduini, S., Beck, T., Capolini, F. (2025). Sustainable corporate governance: A structured literature review of the past 10 years. Corporate Ownership & Control, 22(3), 98–119. https://doi.org/10.22495/cocv22i3art8