How Political Connections Shape Corporate Sustainability: A Systematic Review and Integrative Framework for Future Research Directions

The intersection between corporate entities and political institutions—commonly referred to as corporate political connections (CPCs)—significantly influences firms' strategic conduct and their environmental obligations. Although academic interest in this area has grown, the ethical dimensions of CPCs in relation to environmental sustainability remain insufficiently developed and conceptually fragmented. This paper delivers a systematic literature review (SLR) of 72 scholarly articles to investigate how CPCs shape firms' environmental outcomes across two analytically distinct dimensions: environmental performance, capturing what firms do in terms of green innovation, emissions reduction, and pollution control, and environmental disclosure, capturing what firms report, including the extent, quality, and credibility of their sustainability communications. The review uncovers a marked increase in publications over recent years, with a strong empirical focus on China and the United States, and theoretical grounding predominantly in institutional and resource-based perspectives. Research to date has primarily examined individual-level connections, such as politically affiliated executives, whereas broader organizational political behaviors, including lobbying, political financing, and embedded political mechanisms, have received limited scrutiny. Importantly, the existing literature has disproportionately focused on environmental performance outcomes, whereas the qualitative dimensions of environmental disclosure, including readability, tone, specificity, and potential greenwashing, remain largely underexplored. This review exposes major conceptual and empirical gaps, advocating for a shift in scholarly focus toward ethical, normative, and governance-oriented explorations of CPCs. We recommend further inquiry into the ethical risks of CPCs, their role in misleading sustainability practices, and the value of cross-national institutional comparisons. Integrating ethical analysis into CPC research is vital for promoting responsible political engagement and advancing authentic environmental sustainability.