From ethics to metrics: the transformation of corporate social responsibility from good intentions to governance in SME sustainability research

Abstract

This study examines the development of research on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), corporate sustainability, and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) within the context of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It analyzes 3,168 English-language research articles published from 1959 to 2025, sourced from the Web of Science and Scopus databases, utilizing Bibliometrix/Biblioshiny. Indicators such as annual publication volume, citations, sources, authors, institutions, and countries are evaluated alongside co-citation, country collaboration, co-word, thematic mapping, and thematic evolution analyses. To prevent conflating bibliometric patterns with a paradigm shift, the titles and abstracts of the ten most-cited publications in each period are reviewed for contextual support. The findings demonstrate that 83.7% of publications occur between 2016 and 2025, with no clear peak or deceleration observed within the series. Exploratory curve fitting is therefore regarded as indicative of conditional model behavior rather than a forecast of field maturity. Thematic analysis reveals that CSR language persists, while sustainability, performance, reporting, and ESG terms are added to and reweight the established conceptual core. Resource constraints, owner-manager centrality, informal responsibility practices, and limited reporting capacity characterize the SME context as distinct from that of larger firms. This study provides a reproducible data protocol while maintaining a clear distinction between bibliometric observations and conceptual or practical interpretations.