Anugrah Syahrani. Nurtasyani Yusni Syabila. Andi Aprilia Rahayu. Otong Karyono eISSN 3047-4914 INTEGRATION OF HUMANISTIC PHILOSOPHY IN SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS AND FINANCE MANAGEMENT: A LITERATURE STUDY Anugrah Syahrani Bone State Islamic Institute. Bone Regency. Indonesia Email:syahranianugrah31@gmail. Nurtasyani Yusni Syabila Bone State Islamic Institute. Bone Regency. Indonesia E-mail: yusninurtasyani@gmail. Andi Aprilia Rahayu Bone State Islamic Institute. Bone Regency. Indonesia E-mail: andiaprilia. rahayu@gmail. Otong Karyono Bone State Islamic Institute. Bone Regency. Indonesia E-mail: otong. karyono@iain-bone. Received: December 2025 1st Revision: December 2025 Accepted: January 2026 DOI: 56633/mbisku. ABSTRACT. This study aims to analyze the integration of humanistic philosophy in sustainable business management and finance through a literature Although ESG is increasingly becoming a strategic paradigm in modern corporate practice, the study results show that its implementation is often instrumental and not yet rooted in moral values, potentially resulting in superficial sustainability. Through an analysis of academic literature, it was found that humanistic values such as human dignity, justice, empathy, and moral responsibility have a significant performance, governance quality, and consistency of ESG implementation. A key finding of this study is the theoretical and empirical gap in the lack of explicit integration of humanistic values within the framework of ESG. CSR. GHRM, and sustainable finance, especially in developing countries. This study concludes that authentic sustainability requires an ethical foundation derived from humanistic philosophy and recommends the development of a more humane and long-term theoretical framework and governance Keywords: Humanistic Philosophy. Sustainable Business Management. Environmental Social and Governance (ESG). Humanistic Governance. Sustainable Finance. Introduction In the past two decades, global businesses and corporations worldwide have increasingly faced demands to operate sustainably, not merely pursuing short-term profits, but also considering environmental, social, and governance (ESG) aspects. Globally, sustainable investing has become a dominant trend, with companies and investors beginning to view sustainability as more than a moral option but a strategic necessity. For example, business media Jurnal MBISKU. Vol. No. 01, 2026 Anugrah Syahrani. Nurtasyani Yusni Syabila. Andi Aprilia Rahayu. Otong Karyono eISSN 3047-4914 reports indicate that global investor interest in sustainable investing is very high in 2025, with over 88% of global investors expressing interest in sustainable investing that year. In Indonesia, this trend is increasingly evident. The government, along with business actors, is actively promoting the mainstreaming of Environmental. Social, and Governance (ESG) principles into corporate strategies. National economic sustainability is positioned as a strategic development direction, not solely to maintain environmental sustainability and social balance, but also to ensure long-term economic stability, encourage new job creation, and enhance Indonesia's attractiveness to global investors. 2Furthermore, strengthening regulations and sustainability reporting practices have further strengthened this dynamic. A growing number of companies in Indonesia are preparing and publishing ESG performance reports, utilizing various international frameworks, such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), as the primary reference for developing indicators and disclosing information. This demonstrates a shift from mere formal compliance to more transparent and accountable governance practices. Thus, there appears to be a pressing global and national context for the transition to sustainable business models, reinforced by regulatory pressure, investor demands, and public expectations for a more serious adoption of ESG principles. However, these developments also raise the need for a more in-depth study: ESG cannot be understood simply as a set of technical indicators, but rather needs to be viewed from the perspective of the values, ethics, and philosophy underlying business decision-making. This philosophical perspective is crucial to ensuring that ESG implementation truly reflects a substantive commitment to humanity and sustainability, rather than merely a symbolic exercise or administrative compliance exercise. Although the concepts of Environmental. Social, and Governance (ESG) and sustainability have gained popularity over the past two decades, their implementation in various companies still tends to be mechanistic and instrumental. In many cases. ESG is implemented more as a reputation strategy, to fulfill regulatory obligations, or to attract investment, rather than as a manifestation of the internalization of corporate values and moral responsibility. This situation raises several fundamental problems. First, there is a misalignment between claimed values and operational practices, where short-term profit orientation continues to dominate decision-making, resulting in a lack of substantial integration of ethical, social, and humanitarian considerations. Second. ESG implementation is generally not accompanied by the establishment of a value-based decision-making framework, resulting in sustainability policies being trapped in technocratic reporting activities or CSR programs that are separate from management structures, incentive systems, and organizational culture. Furthermore, the growing market interest in sustainable portfolios raises the risk of greenwashing, a tendency for companies to symbolically project an environmentally friendly image without any real change in business behavior. This practice has the potential to erode the trust of investors, stakeholders, and the wider public. Furthermore, an overly focused focus on short-term financial indicators also limits understanding of ESG success, resulting in less attention to social, humanitarian, and long-term impact aspects. This situation demonstrates that, although sustainability has become a global strategic agenda, its philosophical dimensions. Yanita Petriella, 'Morgan Stanley: Global Investor Interest in Sustainable Investments is Very High'. Bisnis. Com (Jakarta, 2. . ccessed 9 December 2. Abdullah Fikri Ashri and Reynaldo Triwibowo, 'ESG Implementation Continues to Grow in Indonesia'. Kompas, . ccessed 9 December 2. Erlangga Satya Darmawan and Sri Novianti, 'ESG Transparency Becomes a New Focus in the Business World. What About Indonesia?'. Kompas, . ccessed 10 December 2. Jurnal MBISKU. Vol. No. 01, 2026 Anugrah Syahrani. Nurtasyani Yusni Syabila. Andi Aprilia Rahayu. Otong Karyono eISSN 3047-4914 particularly humanistic philosophy emphasizing human dignity, justice, and moral responsibility, remain poorly articulated in practice. Therefore, an in-depth study is needed to understand how humanistic principles can be integrated conceptually and operationally into sustainable business and financial management. This approach is expected to position human values not merely as a moral slogan, but as a theoretical foundation and systematic implementation framework to strengthen corporate integrity, sustainability, and social legitimacy in the modern economic era. A number of contemporary studies and literature have attempted to address the issue of value integration in corporate sustainability practices, from management. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). ESG, and governance perspectives. One bibliometric study on ESG implementation shows that while adopting ESG principles requires certain financial sacrifices, such practices can generate welfare for stakeholders, enhance corporate reputation, and provide long-term benefits by strengthening legitimacy and public trust. 4These findings confirm that sustainability is not merely a cost burden, but can be a source of strategic value when integrated Furthermore, recent research in 2025 on the role of human resources in supporting organizational sustainability through Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) practices shows that GHRM has a significant contribution to improving environmental performance, strengthening green innovation, and shaping pro-environmental behavior at the individual and organizational levels. 5In addition to the ecological dimension. GHRM has also been shown to have an impact on social aspects such as employee retention, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment, thereby strengthening ESG implementation in a more comprehensive and holistic manner. Beyond the technocratic frameworks of ESG and CSR, the literature on economic philosophy and management increasingly highlights the importance of a humanistic approach in redefining corporate purpose. A recent conceptual article proposed a humanistic management framework as an effort to reformulate corporate orientation in the wake of global crises, including the pandemic, by placing human dignity, moral responsibility, and social relations at the core of business practices. 6Hu et al. 's . study, "Managerial Humanistic Attention and CSR: Do Firm Outcomes Improve?", provides important empirical evidence on the relationship between humanistic-oriented managerial attention and corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices in Chinese firms. 7The research findings indicate that managers' humanistic concerns positively influence the intensity and quality of CSR activities, thus confirming that value orientation has a significant impact on organizational sustainability actions. Furthermore, various systematic reviews on Sustainable HRM and CSR integration published between 2022 and 2025 further strengthen the argument that the incorporation of social values, well-being, and the common good into organizational policies is an increasingly prominent trend in the sustainability literature. 8The SLR charts the development of humanistic value integration in HR. CSR reporting, and corporate sustainability strategies, demonstrating the academic and Hutabarat Devi Natalia and Zahroh Naimah, 'Implementation of ESG in Business: Bibliometric Review and Utilitarianism Perspective'. Journal of Accounting: Accounting Scientific Studies, 12. , 129Ae46. Dhimas Tribuana. Usman, and Dayanti, 'HR Transformation in Driving Business Sustainability: The Strategic Role of HR in ESG Implementation'. JTBC:Journal of Technology and Smart Business, 1. , 1Ae 16 . Maria Jyrlstrym and others, 'Integrating AuCommon Good Ay Authenticity for Sustainable Human Resource Management Reporting'. German Journal of Human Resource Management, 38. , 159Ae82 . Jurnal MBISKU. Vol. No. 01, 2026 Anugrah Syahrani. Nurtasyani Yusni Syabila. Andi Aprilia Rahayu. Otong Karyono eISSN 3047-4914 empirical momentum to align humanistic philosophy with modern sustainability-oriented management practices. This approach offers a philosophical foundation to overcome the limitations of a purely financial perspective and encourage companies to operate as moral entities that contribute to human well-being and long-term sustainability. Thus, the existing literature demonstrates that both empirical and conceptual studies have led to the conclusion that integrating humanistic values into ESG and sustainability practices is not only relevant but also crucial to ensuring that companies go beyond mere compliance with standards to substantively embody social and moral responsibility in their business activities. Although the literature on ESG. CSR. GHRM, and sustainability has grown rapidly, several important limitations remain apparent. The majority of studies tend to focus on technical aspects and performance metrics, while exploration of philosophical foundations, including values, ethics, and human dignity, remains very limited, resulting in inadequate integration of the humanistic dimension into sustainability practices. Furthermore, the relationship between theory and practice remains poorly understood, as many empirical studies produce mixed findings without linking them to the extent to which companies actually internalize humanistic values in their organizational culture and decision-making processes. Methodological limitations also arise from the predominance of cross-sectional research and reliance on ESG disclosure data, thus lacking a longitudinal understanding of how humanistic values influence strategic decisions, governance, and long-term performance. Furthermore, there are still few studies conducted in the context of emerging markets like Indonesia, even though differences in culture, regulations, and socio-economic dynamics can result in different sustainability patterns than in developed countries. The ambiguity of concepts and indicators in measuring humanistic management practices further widens the gap between philosophical ideas and empirical evidence, indicating the need for a more comprehensive conceptual and methodological approach to bridge sustainability theory and practice. The proposed research, a systematic literature review on the integration of humanistic philosophy into sustainable business and financial management, is expected to make a substantial contribution to the development of sustainability theory and practice. This study aims to develop a comprehensive conceptual framework for humanistic management in the contemporary context, including definitions of values, principles, and philosophical components relevant to responsible business practices. Furthermore, this study will systematically synthesize empirical and conceptual literature to map how ESG. CSR. GHRM, governance, and corporate strategy have adopted or neglected humanistic dimensions, thus revealing areas that remain unexplored. This study also has the potential to identify indicators and evaluative dimensions that can be used to assess the implementation of humanistic management in practice, while also opening up opportunities for further research development, including longitudinal research and contextual studies in developing countries such as Indonesia. Furthermore, the findings of this study can provide a basis for the formulation of management policies, corporate governance, and regulations that prioritize human dignity, stakeholder welfare, and socio-environmental responsibility. Thus, this research contributes to the formation of a new paradigm in management and financial science that places people and values at the center of sustainability. Amidst global pressures from climate change, social injustice, and economic uncertainty, companies play a strategic role in shaping the direction of sustainable development. However, without a strong foundation of values, various sustainability efforts risk becoming symbolic or merely marketing instruments. Trends also indicate that investor interest in sustainable investment continues to grow, leading stakeholders to demand transparency, accountability, and long-term commitment in the implementation of sustainability practices. At the same time, the context of developing countries, including Indonesia, faces various challenges in ESG Jurnal MBISKU. Vol. No. 01, 2026 Anugrah Syahrani. Nurtasyani Yusni Syabila. Andi Aprilia Rahayu. Otong Karyono eISSN 3047-4914 adoption, ranging from weak reporting, minimal strategic integration, lack of stakeholder engagement, to the dominance of conventional financial approaches. From an academic perspective, literature that combines value philosophy, particularly humanistic, with empirical analysis of sustainable business and finance is still limited. Therefore, research that can bridge the philosophical dimensions, management theory, and corporate practice is needed. Therefore, this research has high relevance and urgency not only for the development of science, but also for business practice and public policy, as it has the potential to present a more humane, ethical, and sustainability-oriented future management framework. Literature Review Environmental. Social, and Governance(ESG) and Sustainability The ESG (Environmental. Social, and Governanc. framework has become a key foundation for developing modern corporate sustainability practices. In current academic discourse. ESG is no longer understood merely as a reporting instrument, but rather as a strategic paradigm that guides companies to balance economic performance with social and environmental responsibility. In the Indonesian context. ESG developments have shown significant progress in line with demands for transparency and changing global investor This dynamic is further strengthened as the domestic capital market has begun to integrate sustainability indicators as part of long-term risk assessments. As Darmawan and Novianti note, "ESG transparency is now a key focus of the business world" and has become a new standard for accountable corporate performance evaluation. 9This indicates that expectations of the company are not only limited to achieving profitability, but also to its ability to implement responsible governance. In addition to the reporting aspect, an empirical study by Murtiasri. Nastiti, and Haris confirms that Aucorporate governance mechanisms have a significant impact on triple bottom line sustainability performance. Ay10These findings reinforce the argument that the quality of internal governance is a key determinant of successful ESG implementation, as strategic decisions involving environmental, social, and governance aspects are systemic and require integration across the organization. These findings demonstrate that sustainability is not merely a reputational issue but is rooted in the organization's decision-making structure. Therefore. ESG demands a shift in management's perspective on strategy formulation, not merely administrative or cosmetic adjustments. However. Natalia and Naimah caution that ESG development also faces challenges because its implementation is often Auseen as merely regulatory compliance without internalizing values. Ay11This phenomenon demonstrates a gap between conceptual commitment and practice, which can hinder the achievement of substantive sustainability. Therefore. ESG requires a stronger foundation of values to serve as more than a technical instrument, but also a meaningful ethical framework. Companies need to interpret ESG as a moral orientation embedded in their organizational culture, enabling them to drive authentic, sustainable change that is oriented toward the long-term public interest. Humanistic Values in Management Humanistic values in management emphasize human dignity, moral autonomy, and a long-term orientation that places people at the center of decision-making. This perspective developed in response to traditional managerial approaches that overemphasized efficiency and Darmawan and Novianti. Eka Murtiasri. Prianka Ratri Nastiti, and Moh. Haris, 'Corporate Governance and Sustainability: Triple Bottom Line Performance'. Scientific Journal of Management. Business and Creative Economy, 2. , 33Ae Natalia and Naimah. Jurnal MBISKU. Vol. No. 01, 2026 Anugrah Syahrani. Nurtasyani Yusni Syabila. Andi Aprilia Rahayu. Otong Karyono eISSN 3047-4914 profit, neglecting the human dimension that is fundamental to organizational sustainability. Conceptual literature by Carlo and Cervi states that companies in the post-crisis era need to "redefine their purpose with a humanistic approach that focuses on human dignity as the organization's ethical compass. "12This view indicates that the global crisis has opened up a new awareness that long-term success cannot be achieved without ethics, empathy, and recognition of the intrinsic value of people in organizations. Other research findings also demonstrate how humanistic values influence organizational Syamsuri and Zakaria found that "humanistic and ethical leadership can significantly increase job satisfaction. "13proves that the human dimension is not only moral but also has direct implications for organizational effectiveness. In addition to showing a positive correlation, these findings emphasize that a humane leadership style can encourage motivation, loyalty, and a healthier work culture. In HR, the Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) approach strengthens this argument. Suyantiningsih and Wening assert that GHRM "significantly supports business sustainability through pro-environmental behavior and green "14This indicates that the human resources function not only plays a role in employee management, but also in instilling sustainability values that are integrated with organizational The integration of humanistic values with modern management enables the creation of ethical, adaptive, and sustainability-oriented organizations. This approach encourages organizations to develop work patterns that balance economic and humanitarian goals, as well as to build structures that support employee well-being and environmental sustainability. Thus, the humanistic paradigm not only offers an ethical framework but also contributes to improved organizational performance, competitiveness, and resilience in the long term. Humanistic Governance Humanistic governance emerged as a new approach in the governance literature, incorporating the principles of justice, participation, and social welfare as core elements of decision-making. This approach emerged in response to the limitations of conventional governance, which tends to be oriented toward compliance and control, but fails to prioritize human values as a strategic dimension. Basbeth states that "humanistic governance plays a strong moderating role in strengthening the relationship between frugal innovation and cooperative performance. "15These findings demonstrate that values-based governance not only influences internal processes but also impacts the creation of broader shared value. This demonstrates that governance that places people at the center of policy formulation can facilitate sustainable innovation while creating mutually beneficial relationships for both the organization and its surrounding community. In the context of large companies. Situmeang et al. 's research shows that the integration of good governance and CSR can Auimprove a company's reputation and build stakeholder Ay16This assertion is important because it demonstrates that the application of humanistic Carlo and Cervi. Abd Rasyid Syamsuri and Nurman Zakaria, 'Analysis of Humanistic and Ethical Leadership in Increasing Job Satisfaction: A Qualitative Study in the Palm Oil Industry in Riau'. STUDENT BUSINESS JOURNAL, 5. , 2428Ae42. Tri Suyantiningsih and Nur Wening, 'The Influence of Green Human Resources Management and Green Innovation on Business Sustainability'. Research in Business Management and Accounting, 3. , 316Ae25