Digital Transformation and Environmental, Social, Governance ESG Performance in Top Companies: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Background: ESG has moved from a peripheral concern to a strategic necessity for top-tier companies, and digital transformation has emerged alongside it as a core driver of organizational change. Purpose: This review synthesizes empirical evidence on how different stages of digital integration - from basic process digitization through to full business-model innovation - shape ESG performance across sectors. Methodology: Following a structured search protocol, the study maps the existing literature to trace theoretical and empirical developments and to identify thematic connections between digital typologies and ESG outcomes. Main Findings: The literature is notably uneven. Digital technologies clearly improve data transparency and resource efficiency, but their effect on actual ESG performance depends heavily on a firm's digital maturity, its sector, and the regulatory environment it operates in. A related concern is that many studies draw on the same overlapping ESG databases, which can blur the line between genuine performance gains and simply better reporting. Originality: This review pays closer attention than most prior work to two areas: the role of external governance actors, and the still poorly understood mechanisms linking digital entrepreneurship to ESG goal integration. Practical Implications: For practitioners, the review offers a framework for aligning digital and sustainability initiatives, and argues that doing so effectively requires input from across disciplines rather than from a single function.