Exploring the relationship between investor profiles and sustainable investment drivers: a systematic review

The purpose of the present study is, firstly, to systematically review research papers on sustainable investments (SI); secondly, to identify and classify investors engaged in SI; thirdly, to map out linkages between investor classifications and drivers of SI; and lastly, to provide future research directions in the domain. To undertake the present study, the PRISMA protocol was used to choose 81 publications that were published between 2015 and 2023 from the Web of Science database. These publications were then analysed using VOSviewer software. A thematic analysis was conducted to assess various themes in the field of sustainable investments (SI). Further, a mapping exercise was conducted by the authors to assess the linkages between types of investors and SI drivers. This exercise can help identify opportunities for collaboration among investors, policymakers, corporations, and NGOs to achieve common sustainability goals. The study revealed that the number of published research papers on sustainable investments has exponentially grown in the last eight years. A total of three clusters emerged from the analysis that was conducted on the selected set of research papers. The study identified a total of seven drivers and eight types of investors for sustainable investments. Policymakers can draw inferences from this study and investigate the different barriers, ways to get around them, and opportunities that come with successfully implementing sustainability practices. Future researchers and scholars can conduct a comparative study of developed and developing economies regarding the integration of sustainability practices like environment, social, and governance (ESG) in investor decisions in order to get a comprehensive outlook.