THE INTERSECTION OF TAX AVOIDANCE AND ESG PERFORMANCE: A BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL RESEARCH DEVELOPMENTS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35631/AIJBES.829034Keywords:
Bibliometric, Tax Avoidance, Environmental, Social and Governance, VosviewerAbstract
Despite growing scholarly interest in the relationship between Tax Avoidance (TA) and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices, the intellectual structure, thematic evolution, and global research landscape of this emerging field have not been systematically mapped. To address this gap, this study examines the evolution and intellectual structure of research on the relationship between Tax Avoidance (TA) and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices through a bibliometric analysis of Scopus-indexed publications published between 2021 and 2026. Using bibliometric techniques and visualization tools in VOSviewer, the study analyzes publication trends, country contributions, bibliographic coupling, and keyword co-occurrence to uncover the main research themes and knowledge development within the field. The findings reveal that research on TA–ESG emerged in 2021 and has experienced significant growth, particularly after 2023, reflecting increasing academic interest in the relationship between corporate tax practices, sustainability, and responsible business behaviour. The bibliographic coupling analysis highlights strong research connections among countries such as China, Indonesia, Tunisia, Malaysia, and other global contributors, demonstrating the international development of this research area. The keyword co-occurrence analysis identifies key themes including tax avoidance, ESG performance, sustainability, corporate governance, stakeholder theory, agency theory, ESG reporting, greenwashing, and corporate ethics. The findings suggest that TA–ESG research has evolved beyond traditional tax management perspectives toward broader discussions on corporate responsibility, transparency, and sustainable value creation. Unlike previous reviews that primarily examine ESG and tax avoidance as separate research streams, this study provides the first comprehensive bibliometric mapping of their intersection, revealing the emerging intellectual foundations, thematic developments, and global collaborative research networks that shape this evolving field.
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References
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