Purpose This paper aims to contribute to the emerging literature on accounting education in the COVID-19 context. It proposes expanding the literature in its methodological, geographical and conceptual components. Design/methodology/approach This paper is a qualitative study that used a survey as the method. A total of 122 instructors answered the survey from 22 accounting programmes offered in 11 Colombian cities. The dialogic education model of Paulo Freire is the framework for analysis. Findings The accounting instructors’ response was to move from face-to-face classrooms to online classrooms, using widely known platforms. The instructors quickly learned to use tools that enabled new dialogue mechanisms with the students. The result was, paradoxically, closer communication at a distance. Research limitations/implications The COVID-19 lockdown accelerated the changes in teaching, learning, contextualisation, use of “new” technologies and, above all, practising Freirian dialogue. There is a need to research longer periods and use more data collection and analysis tools. Practical implications Evidence of how to teach accounting en masse from online classrooms in a developing country could accelerate the expansion of virtual accounting programmes. Social implications The new context allows increasing the number of students because it does not require travel to large cities. Originality/value This paper makes three contributions to the literature on accounting education in the COVID-19 context as follows: it describes the phenomenon in Colombia, a context little studied in the international accounting literature; transcends autoethnographic studies, as it is based on a qualitative survey of national scope and analyses the phenomenon based on Paulo Freire’s complete model, which includes context, educational process design and action process.

In recent years, the rise of e-commerce has prompted the emergence of electronic marketplaces, or e-marketplaces, which act as intermediaries in the buying and selling process, bringing together several vendors to offer a wide range of products and services to customers, generating modalities such as business-to-business (B2B), business-to-consumer (B2C) or consumer-to-consumer (C2C) e-marketplaces. E-marketplaces offer advantages such as access to potential buyers, business and product visibility, the reduction of transaction costs, the comparison of offers and prices among competitors, and the ease of business internationalization. However, the success of e-marketplace business models depends on the sustainability of these platforms, which must involve different stakeholders in order to meet economic, environmental, and social objectives. Therefore, this study presents a bibliometric analysis and systematic review of e-marketplaces, open innovation, and sustainability for the last ten, five, and two years. The analysis includes the number, types, and subject areas of documents published each year, as well as considerations such as the most-cited publications and the leading authors, journals, countries, and institutional affiliations. The analysis also includes a study of the relevant concepts in the publications and their relationships, identifying the predominant topics related to e-marketplaces, open innovation, and sustainability. The results indicate a focus on subject areas such as social sciences, environmental sciences, energy, business, management, and accounting, which is consistent with the economic, environmental, and social dimensions of sustainability. The findings show that e-marketplaces, open innovation, and sustainability are closely related to concepts such as sustainable development, e-commerce, digital marketing, China (the leading country in terms of publications in all periods), logistics, supply chain management, big data, planning, and decision making. Future works should address traffic congestion and environmental impact, new delivery practices in last-mile logistics, and the motives for users’ engagement in e-marketplaces. Likewise, future research can be oriented toward sustainability dimensions and stakeholders’ integration through open innovation and toward the limitations of SMEs in order to access and benefit from digital platforms.