Since ESG 2.0 is a multidimensional strategy beyond regulations and compliances, knowledge management is pertinent to demonstrate a culture of continuous innovation and progress in corporate sustainability. To convert business success from ESG goals, aspects of knowledge management can be leveraged to achieve sustainable development goals, increased brand value and reputation, and stakeholder trust. This study aims to initiate a forward-looking dialogue to create a broader understanding of the ESG 2.0 framework by addressing questions regarding its attributes, key drivers and prospects through the theoretical foundation of knowledge management.
The study has undertaken a critical discourse analysis of 162 newspaper articles, videos and policy documents collected from November 2019 to September 2023 to understand the various dynamics of the theme and shed light on the social discourses. The given data set was analyzed using Gioia’s axial coding approach to identify prominent themes of ESG 2.0.
Because ESG 2.0 is at a nascent stage, no prior literature has comprehensively appraised ESG 2.0 to fill the void with the help of critical discourse analysis to provide a 360-degree perspective on the evolution of the ESG 2.0 framework and provides a detailed description of attributes, key drivers and prospects of ESG 2.0 through the theoretical foundation of knowledge management.
The study’s practical implications are relevant as they highlight the prominent drivers for firms, which will act as a basis for them and incentivize them to adopt the ESG 2.0 framework. Further, it provides a stream of directions for policymakers and regulators, as they will be able to identify various lacunas in the existing framework and make necessary efforts to improve them.
The study is a novel attempt to propose a conceptual ESG 2.0 framework, as the literature in this domain is nascent. This is one of the pioneer studies in articulating the aspects of ESG 2.0, its key drivers, and the prospects of this growing concept through the theoretical foundation of knowledge management.
