Sustainability reporting in banks: History of studies and a conceptual framework for thinking about the future by learning from the past

Abstract

The importance of sustainability reporting has grown steadily over time and banks, as intermediaries in the capital allocation, are significantly involved in the issue. By analyzing the development of studies on banks' sustainability reporting over the past 30 years, this contribution aims to set up a conceptual framework for guiding historical research and glimpsing future directions. Most of the literature on sustainability reporting is organized by specific topics and rarely by periods, while research in this area suffers from the lack of historical analysis models. The study addresses these two research gaps by applying the historical approach both to a structured literature review and to the interpretation of the results. The theoretical utility of the study consists in the development of a conceptual framework for historical research, while its practical relevance lies in indicating to banks and lawmakers the critical issues and opportunities of the ongoing regulatory changes.

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