Bridging quality and sustainability : a bibliometric and systematic exploration of ESG scores in quality anomalies

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), when combined with Quality stocks, have demonstrated high returns even in a scenario of market instability. This paper combines bibliometric analysis and systematic review to investigate the intersection of ESG scores and Quality anomalies. A filtered sample of 952 papers from the Web of Science and Scopus databases is analyzed. The study reveals that Quality Anomaly with ESG has grown significantly since 2012, driven by sustainable finance initiatives, with the U.S., China, and the UK leading research in this area. Finally, the paper provides directions for future research, highlighting gaps and opportunities for integrating ESG scores into financial anomaly studies and asset pricing models. This research offers valuable perspectives for academia, practitioners, and policymakers aiming to enhance financial strategies with sustainability insights. [Publisher's text]