Big Data and Accounting: A Bibliometric Study

Over the years, the importance and role of Big Data have grown considerably. Accountants’ work requires sound judgement and decision making, which makes their activities less conducive to automation. Nonetheless, it is useful for accountants to be at ease with the use of data analysis, especially when data are unstructured and relevant to decision making. This study aimed to visualize the research panorama on the theme “Big Data and accounting” to appreciate the current state of knowledge in this field. Bibliometric analysis was used to study literature on the topic of Big Data and accounting. The data were collected using the Scopus database to ascertain the authors, countries, keywords and journals that have contributed the most to this body of knowledge. VOSviewer software was used for data visualization. Through a visual analysis, the results reveal the current state of knowledge on the theme of Big Data and accounting, with significant implications for future works in this field. The findings also highlight the potential opportunities for future studies on this topic and on peripheral theme

Corporate entrepreneurship champions: mapping the past and present states of the field for future advancements

Purpose The purpose of this study is to critically examine and review the extant research on corporate entrepreneurship champions in the broader area of corporate entrepreneurship and to uncover the avenues for advancement of the scholarship with the purpose of engaging CE champions towards the upliftment of organisations in particular, and younger workforce in general. Design/methodology/approach In this study, authors employ bibliometric analysis through a review of 274 papers fetched from Web of Science and Scopus databases. Findings The authors set the agenda for future research and policy by elucidating research themes and potential research questions by bringing out twelve themes classified into five basic themes, three niche themes, three motor themes, and one key theme, while also providing the methodological inputs for carrying out this agenda. Originality/value This study adopts a unique lens of investigation in contextualising the role of self-efficacy, employee engagement, and career choice for the younger workforce

Uncovering the Complexities of Intellectual Property Management in the era of AI: Insights from a Bibliometric Analysis

Intellectual property (IP) management has posed continuous problems in the digital world, so understanding its associated concepts and the particularities they present is crucial. Within artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP) have enabled the intelligent processing and analysis of large volumes of data, making them widely used tools. In order to help fill the research gap that exists due to the novelty of the concepts, a bibliometric analysis is proposed of 404 scientific documents linked to AI, ML, NLP and IP, extracted from the Web of Science (WoS) core collection repository. The results demonstrate a current trend in research on the management of IP, related to digital tools and highlight the issues that arise from the management of IP stemming from their use. This research also identifies how these tools have been used to facilitate the management and identification of IP. In this sense, this study brings originality to the field of intellectual property management by examining previous studies and proposing new avenues for future research, thus broadening the current understanding of the subject. Entrepreneurs and business leaders can benefit from this study as it uncovers the complexities of IP management and thus enhances understanding of the opportunities and challenges in the AI er

Mapping the areas of research on intellectual capital throughout a period of dynamic environmental changes

Theoretical background: Intellectual capital is perceived as a global economy driving factor. Many researchers highlight that it is an ingredient improving the functional gear of almost any organisation. Some voices have simultaneously appeared in scientific discussions claiming that the concept of intellectual capital management may not be fully applicable, either in conditions of economic downturn or during turbulent changes. A whole spectrum of external factors then come to the floor, affecting the situation of a company, while the periods of economic perturbations discourage investments in human resources and hamper HR initiatives. Therefore, in these changing economic conditions, a question arises about the rationale for and the directions of the development on the research on intellectual capital, and the concept itself undergoes a practical verification of suitability and usefulness. This is a particularly interesting field of research because the transformations, which take place in the environment of enterprises, create specific expectations, which should be met within the framework of ongoing research projects on the intellectual capital.Purpose of the article: The aim of this article is to identify the dominant topical trends and networks of research directions in the subject of intellectual capital and their changes over time. The study attempts to illustrate these changes.Research methods: Having employed the text mining method, nearly 5,000 scientific articles on intellectual capital were analysed. Consequently, this extensive literature review enabled mapping of the network of links among the research directions in this area.Main findings: The results of the study have provided a fairly deep insight into the trends in the research on intellectual capital over the years. The results also reflect the vastness of the subject and the scope of the issues addressed over the past and present years. The interest in the concept of intellectual capital management continues and the dynamics of changes in the environment of the modern enterprise is not at all insignificant. The clusters, identified in the research on intellectual capital, have been opening new theoretical, pragmatic and methodological horizons. The analysis, carried out within the study network, confirmed the multifaceted nature of the network of research directions in the area of intellectual capital. In addition, the new research trends, which have been emerging in this area, clearly respond both to the dynamic changes in the business environment and to the doubts about the scale of activities, undertaken with regard to the intellectual capital management. Thus, in this situation, the periods of crisis and instability appear on one hand as a serious threat to the issue of intellectual capital management, while on the other, they can be perceived as an opportunity to renew the existing management concepts.Theoretical background: Intellectual capital is perceived as a global economy driving factor. Many researchers highlight that it is an ingredient improving the functional gear of almost any organisation. Some voices have simultaneously appeared in scientific discussions claiming that the concept of intellectual capital management may not be fully applicable, either in conditions of economic downturn or during turbulent changes. A whole spectrum of external factors then come to the floor, affecting the situation of a company, while the periods of economic perturbations discourage investments in human resources and hamper HR initiatives. Therefore, in these changing economic conditions, a question arises about the rationale for and the directions of the development on the research on intellectual capital, and the concept itself undergoes a practical verification of suitability and usefulness. This is a particularly interesting field of research because the transformations, which take place in the environment of enterprises, create specific expectations, which should be met within the framework of ongoing research projects on the intellectual capital.Purpose of the article: The aim of this article is to identify the dominant topical trends and networks of research directions in the subject of intellectual capital and their changes over time. The study attempts to illustrate these changes.Research methods: Having employed the text mining method, nearly 5000 scientific articles on intellectual capital were analysed. Consequently, this extensive literature review enabled mapping of the network of links among the research directions in this area.Main findings: The results of the study have provided a fairly deep insight into the trends in the research on intellectual capital over the years. The results also reflect the vastness of the subject and the scope of the issues addressed over the past and present years. The interest in the concept of intellectual capital management continues and the dynamics of changes in the environment of the modern enterprise is not at all insignificant. The clusters, identified in the research on intellectual capital, have been opening new theoretical, pragmatic and methodological horizons. The analysis, carried out within the study network, confirmed the multifaceted nature of the network of research directions in the area of intellectual capital. In addition, the new research trends, which have been emerging in this area, clearly respond both to the dynamic changes in the business environment and to the doubts about the scale of activities, undertaken with regards to the intellectual capital management. Thus, in this situation, the periods of crisis and instability appear on one hand as a serious threat to the issue of intellectual capital management, while on the other, they can be perceived as an opportunity to renew the existing management concepts

Bibliometric Analysis Research on Audit Nexus in Corporate Governance

Audit study on corporate governance and its influence on the corporate organisation is expanding exponentially. It has been undeniable after the 2007-2008 financial crisis and corporate scandals. This review provides an overview of the evolution of scholarly literature on the relationship between audit and corporate governance in peer-reviewed publications published between 2010 and 2020. The study has used a bibliometric technique to review 48 researched documents from the Scopus database. The review highlights document type, publication trend, journal types, influential authors, impactful papers, and keyword co-occurrence network through VOSviewer visualisation. In addition, the findings uncover new trends that have surfaced over the past few decades and suggest possible future lines of research. This study contributes to our understanding of audit in corporate governance studies by reviewing documents systematically using bibliometric techniques and VOSviewer analysis for the study period

Corporate social responsibility and corporate tax aggressiveness: a scientometric analysis of the existing literature to map the future

Using data from 2003 to 2020, this study uses a scientometric approach to investigate the nexus between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and corporate tax aggressiveness research. The objective is to identify under-explored regions, variables, citation patterns, theories, and unexplored topics in the body of knowledge to establish trends in publications on issues about corporate social responsibility and corporate tax aggressiveness. In addition, the study also considers publication journal areas of focus. Research linking CSR and tax avoidance using VOSviewer and triangulating with CiteSpace, by way of approach, is not found in the literature. The findings suggest that CSR and corporate tax aggressiveness researchers do not use far-reaching relevant theories and applicable findings from studies beyond their clusters. Another finding is that African countries remain under-explored due to the absence of institutional representation and an adequate number of investigators regarding CSR and corporate tax aggressiveness research. Finally, the study reveals a number of research topics to be explored. Governments, particularly in developing economies, should create policies that define taxes as part of an entity’s CSR narrative to enhance transparency and legitimacy. In addition, the study is of immense significance to master and PhD students since it provides an agenda for future research.This paper was financed by National Funds of the FCT-Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology within the project “UIDB/03182/2020”

Can we trust ESG Ratings? Some insights based on a bibliometric analysis of ESG data quality and rating reliability

The aim of this research is to investigate the quality and reliability of ESG data provided by companies, as well as the accuracy and objectivity of ESG ratings produced by sus- tainability rating agencies (SRAs). Since SRAs use companies’ non-financial information as input data when formulating their ESG ratings, these two topics appear to be strictly interconnected. Drawing on the Shanon and Weaver (1949) model of communication, we have addressed these issues by means of a systematic literature review combined with a bibliometric anal- ysis. In our investigation we run: i) the co-citation analysis to detect the seminal papers; ii) a keyword co-occurrence analysis to explore how the main features of the academic debate have unfolded in the last five years; iii) a keyword co-occurrence analysis to obtain a network visualisation map to explore how the research broad scope was articulated in different clusters (i.e., themes of research). Among the clusters that emerged from the mapping, we have decided to delve into the streams of research we consider most relevant and deal with: the relationships between ESG and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Namely, we deem that AI may allow us to process massive amounts of data that contain crucial infor- mation for ESG investing. However, even if computer algorithms are able to analyse all information available efficiently, and in a timely manner, managers and investors should be aware of their opportunities and criticisms, while scholars should list propositions for advancing the research on these topics

How journal rankings can suppress interdisciplinary research. A comparison between Innovation Studies and Business & Management

This study provides quantitative evidence on how the use of journal rankings can disadvantage interdisciplinary research in research evaluations. Using publication and citation data, it compares the degree of interdisciplinarity and the research performance of a number of Innovation Studies units with that of leading Business & Management schools in the UK. On the basis of various mappings and metrics, this study shows that: (i) Innovation Studies units are consistently more interdisciplinary in their research than Business & Management schools; (ii) the top journals in the Association of Business Schools' rankings span a less diverse set of disciplines than lower-ranked journals; (iii) this results in a more favourable assessment of the performance of Business & Management schools, which are more disciplinary-focused. This citation-based analysis challenges the journal ranking-based assessment. In short, the investigation illustrates how ostensibly 'excellence-based' journal rankings exhibit a systematic bias in favour of mono-disciplinary research. The paper concludes with a discussion of implications of these phenomena, in particular how the bias is likely to affect negatively the evaluation and associated financial resourcing of interdisciplinary research organisations, and may result in researchers becoming more compliant with disciplinary authority over time.Comment: 41 pages, 10 figure

Intellectual evolution of social innovation: a bibliometric analysis and avenues for future research trends

Despite the fact that the concept of social innovation is extensively employed by scholars and practitioners, yet the conceptualisation and the research structure remained fragmented and scattered, because no rigorous attempt has been made to understand the core concept of social innovation. The notion of social innovation is multi-faceted and multi-disciplinary fluctuating from public-policy to environmental sustainability; which makes an investigation of the concept essential for business-to-business practitioners and scholars. By processing 370 publications from a sample of 125 journals and books with a total of 2941 citations, the authors unpack/unfold the intellectual foundation of social innovation in business and management domains by performing four bibliometric analyses and they evaluate the research domain qualitatively (1970-2019). By using co-citation, network visualisation through co-occurrence data, multi-dimensional scaling, and hierarchical cluster analysis, this research sheds light to the intellectual structure of social innovation including social value, economic value, societal impact, and bifocal innovations. This research reveals the key research clusters embodied by social innovation foundation. The present study identifies four important components for the future avenues of social innovation (i.e. opportunity, innovation practice, opportunity exploiter, value), and proposes a potential research framework to the researchers and practitioners, hoping to provide insights on social innovation