The Quest of Conceptual Coherence for ESG: A Covariational Structure Analysis in the Marketing and Management Literature of the ESG Concept
(A2026-133762)

AUTHORS

Katerina Papakonstantinou, University of Piraeus; MARKOS TSOGAS, University of Piraeus

ABSTRACT

ESG is a concept that over the last decade has sparked many scholars’ interests. However, significant data show that ESG’s conceptual coherence is low, challenging the findings of numerous previous studies in the marketing and management domain. Using the theory of conceptual spaces and MAXQDA to conduct a content analysis in the ESG literature, the findings revealed that neither the pillar-level nor the cross-pillar analysis exhibited the required covariational structure for the ESG concept to be characterized as coherent. In contrast, the indicated high heterogeneity between the properties in both levels of analysis showcased that ESG does not occupy a coherent conceptual space in the marketing and management literature. As a result, this study aspires to spark an academic debate on the likelihood ESG to be an “artificial concept”, making it imperative for future research to redefine its boundaries as a concept consisting of three interconnected pillars.