Environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations have become increasingly relevant in shaping consumer attitudes, trust and purchasing behavior. Although related reviews have examined sustainability, corporate social responsibility, and emerging ESG-consumer trends, the literature remains fragmented and lacks a structured account of how ESG-consumer research is distributed across theories, contexts, characteristics, and methodologies. This study conducts a systematic literature review (SLR) to synthesize and map the evolving knowledge structure of research at the intersection of consumer behavior and ESG.
Using the scientific procedures and rationales for systematic literature reviews (SPAR-4-SLR) protocol, this study systematically reviews 42 articles indexed in the Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus databases up to February 2025. Bibliometric analysis is used to identify publication trends, influential contributors, and thematic patterns, while the theory–context–characteristics–methodology (TCCM) framework is employed to interpret the field's theoretical foundations, contextual settings, characteristic features and methodological profile.
This review shows that ESG-consumer research is growing rapidly but remains theoretically fragmented, geographically concentrated, and methodologically narrow. The literature is dominated by East Asian settings, especially South Korea and China, and is concentrated in service-oriented sectors such as food and beverage, tourism, hospitality, and sports. Corporate-centric and brand-related perspectives are prevalent, while consumer-centered theorization, cross-cultural evidence, and negative consumer responses such as skepticism remain underexplored. Methodologically, survey-based quantitative designs, particularly structural equation modeling, dominate the field, with limited use of qualitative, mixed-method, experimental, and longitudinal approaches.
The review is limited to studies indexed in WoS and Scopus, potentially excluding relevant research published in other databases or non-English sources.
The findings suggest that businesses should align ESG strategies with consumer expectations through credible, transparent and context-relevant communication, while policymakers should strengthen disclosure quality and accountability to reduce skepticism and greenwashing concerns.
As consumers become more attentive to ESG-related information, their responses may reinforce more responsible consumption, stronger corporate accountability and wider demand for credible sustainability practices.
This study extends prior reviews by moving beyond descriptive trend mapping and variable-based synthesis to provide an integrated account of the intellectual and empirical structure of ESG-consumer research. By combining bibliometric analysis with the TCCM framework, it offers a more systematic understanding of how the field has evolved, where its major imbalances lie, and what is needed for stronger theory development and future inquiry.
