Sustainability in banking literature: review and synthesis of thematic structure

Abstract

Purpose This literature review aims to present the thematic and intellectual structure of sustainability in banking literature. Design/methodology/approach A systematic literature review and manual content analysis of 158 studies from the Web of Science and Scopus databases has been conducted. Findings The study reveals three major themes: conceptualization of sustainability, measurement of sustainability performance and communication of sustainability. The review provides future research directions regarding the quality of reporting, the contribution of sustainable banking toward achieving sustainable development goals, the use of primary data for analyzing sustainable banking initiatives and distinctions in the concepts of sustainability in banking. Originality/value Since the beginning of the century, the literature on sustainability in banking has been prolific but heterogeneous and fragmented. Reviews have been restricted to niche areas. This review addresses the lack of a unifying paradigm for sustainability in banking literature.