Title:
Corporate ESG Myths, Challenges, and Reality Check for the Way Forward to Integrated Holistic Living: A Scoping Review and Conceptual Framework

Authors:
Dr. Shankar Subramanian Iyer, Dr Brinitha Raji, Faculty, Dr. Rajesh Arora & Dr Raman Subramanian, USA

Abstract:

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) frameworks have emerged as dominant paradigms for corporate sustainability, yet their implementation reveals persistent gaps between rhetoric and reality. This scoping review synthesizes evidence from 120 peer-reviewed studies published between 2011 and 2026 to systematically map ESG myths, implementation barriers, theoretical foundations, and empirical outcomes. Five pervasive myths are identified: ESG as synonymous with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), ESG relevance limited to large firms, guaranteed financial outperformance, ESG as mere reporting, and uniform stakeholder preferences. Implementation barriers span strategic (resource constraints, unclear stakeholder demand), organizational (governance resistance, capability gaps), institutional (fragmented standards, weak enforcement), and technical (data verification, rating inconsistencies) dimensions. Despite theoretical richness grounded in stakeholder, institutional, legitimacy, and resource-based theories, empirical evidence reveals heterogeneous financial outcomes, widespread greenwashing, and decoupling between disclosure and performance, particularly in weak regulatory contexts.

Critical research gaps emerge around community wellbeing metrics, causal evidence for long-term impacts, measurement harmonization, and the conceptualization of integrated holistic living. This paper proposes a novel Integrated Holistic Living Framework (IHLF) that transcends firm-centric ESG models by embedding ecological integrity, human wellbeing, social equity, and participatory governance as interdependent pillars. The framework is operationalized through a mixed-methods research design with twelve testable hypotheses examining relationships between ESG practices, organizational capabilities, institutional contexts, and holistic living outcomes. This research advances ESG scholarship by shifting focus from corporate performance to systemic sustainability, offering actionable pathways for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers committed to just transitions and regenerative development.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.51505/IJEBMR.2026.10519