Mapping the Nexus between Sustainable Consumption and Corporate Social Responsibility: Intellectual Structure, Evolution and Research Agenda.

Abstract

Drawing on 547 peer-reviewed articles published between 2007 and 2025, this research integrates the previously parallel streams of sustainable consumption and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Using co-citation, bibliographic coupling, keyword co-occurrence and co-authorship analyses, we identify eight knowledge domains, ranging from corporate governance and circular economy metrics to ethical consumption and emerging market behaviour, and trace their salience across four chronological waves. Network visualisations highlight core theories (e.g., stakeholder theory, the Theory of Planned Behaviour), pivotal authors, journals and international collaborations, while burst detection reveals nascent frontiers such as SDG-aligned indicators, blockchain-enabled traceability, Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) and consumer ethics in the Global South. The review synthesises three recurrent mechanisms, namely signalling of trust intentions, governance capabilities and performance, and metrics-based transparency and accountability, and proposes a data-grounded research agenda that links boardroom decisions, supply chain innovations and household choices. Taken together, the findings offer scholars and practitioners an integrated map of almost two decades of inquiry and a platform for designing more holistic sustainability models.