{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,1]],"date-time":"2026-04-01T19:02:46Z","timestamp":1775070166907,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":67,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,9]],"date-time":"2025-04-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1744156800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJFS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>One of the most significant recent developments in the debt financing sector pertains to new products and standards applicable to sustainability-related issues. Therefore, research on this has increased substantially. One of the most recent such developments is that of sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs). In 2023, global sustainable bond issuance experienced an increase of three percent, nearly reaching USD 1 trillion with significant shifts observed in categories, including green-, social-, sustainability-, and sustainability-linked bonds (GSSSBs). This paper presents one of the most extensive literature reviews on SLBs research, examining trends, research evolution, thematic landscape, and underexplored topics by employing bibliometric and content analysis approaches. It identifies future research avenues and trends, including supporting issuers in transitioning towards net-zero emissions or broader objectives, such as implementing sustainability targets to fight climate change, the premium associated with bond pricing, the potential for greenwashing, and the blockchain technology for issuance and target\u2019s monitoring transparency. In addition, this paper discusses the new trend of thematic bonds, such as those addressing gender characteristics, as innovative strategies to promote societal equity. The systematic literature review also explores the significance of SLBs as public instruments, like sovereign bonds or private instruments, while identifying research areas, including linking SLBs with the evolution of management theory.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijfs13020062","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,10]],"date-time":"2025-04-10T08:46:20Z","timestamp":1744274780000},"page":"62","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Sustainability-Linked Bonds Research: A Bibliometric and Content Analysis Review"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Clarisse Heck","family":"Machado","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"CEF.UP, School of Economics and Management, University of Porto, Rua Dr Roberto Frias s\/n, 4200-464 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5649-9734","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Miguel","family":"Sousa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CEF.UP, School of Economics and Management, University of Porto, Rua Dr Roberto Frias s\/n, 4200-464 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3715-0881","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Manuel Castelo","family":"Branco","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CEF.UP, School of Economics and Management, University of Porto, Rua Dr Roberto Frias s\/n, 4200-464 Porto, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,4,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"105261","DOI":"10.1016\/j.frl.2024.105261","article-title":"Signaling sustainability: Differential reaction of the stock market following the announcement of sustainability-linked bonds","volume":"63","author":"Affolter","year":"2024","journal-title":"Finance Research Letters"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"257","DOI":"10.1007\/s10640-021-00585-7","article-title":"Corporate green bonds: Understanding the greenium in a two-factor structural model","volume":"80","author":"Agliardi","year":"2021","journal-title":"Environmental and Resource Economics"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"76","DOI":"10.1108\/JIC-11-2019-0259","article-title":"Intellectual capital and sustainable development: A systematic literature review","volume":"22","author":"Alvino","year":"2021","journal-title":"Journal of Intellectual Capital"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"959","DOI":"10.1016\/j.joi.2017.08.007","article-title":"bibliometrix: An R-tool for comprehensive science mapping analysis","volume":"11","author":"Aria","year":"2017","journal-title":"Journal of Informetrics"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"643","DOI":"10.1111\/fima.12437","article-title":"Are sustainability-linked loans designed to effectively incentivize corporate sustainability? 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