The profitability of going green: a bibliometric assessment of sustainable business practices and financial performance

The growing worldwide recognition of ESG integration, corporate responsibilities and sustainable development has had a significant effect on the relationship between sustainability and profitability. The academic literature related to sustainable business practices and business performance from 2004 to 2024 is assessed through a bibliometric analysis in this article. This study analysed 282 journal articles indexed in Scopus using the Bibliometrix R package and VOSviewer software to illustrate the prominent trends in this area and to identify the key contributors in this domain over time. The findings highlight that scholarly output has increased rapidly, especially after 2016. And underscore the intellectual development of major themes like corporate social responsibility, green entrepreneurship and environmental performance. Co-authorship patterns and keyword networks suggest that researchers from various countries and fields collaborate frequently. This study fills a significant gap in the existing literature by providing a comprehensive overview of the development of sustainability-driven profitability research and highlighting novel areas that need to be addressed in the future.