Assessing the impact of environmental accounting research: evidence from citation and journal data

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to conduct an analysis of management research based on impact measures, with a focus on the accounting discipline and the environment theme. Using author and journal data as units of analysis, this study seek to determine the representation of environmental accounting researchers among the most cited accounting authors and the consideration given to environmental issues in the impact assessment of management journals. Design/methodology/approach This study collects and quantitatively analyzes the publications and citations of the 50 most cited accounting authors and run a principal component analysis on a collection of journal-centered indicators and rankings. Findings This study finds that – among the most cited accounting authors – environmental accounting researchers hold a relatively influential position although their research is mainly published in non-top-tier accounting journals. This study also documents that some environment-themed journals suffer from significant disadvantages in peer-reviewed journal rankings. Practical implications Environmental accounting researchers are likely to disseminate their research in other media than in top-tier journals. This may have an impact on the academic viability of this field. Social implications Despite their strong connection to societal issues, some research themes could become understudied if journal rankings are not able to consider publication outlets in a more comprehensive way. There is a strong need for a broader consideration of scientific production, particularly in relation to its overall societal impact. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time an empirical analysis, combining author and journal data and documenting such findings, has been presented for publication. This study means to provide some descriptive insights into where environmental accounting researchers and environment-themed journals stand.

Non-financial reporting and corporate governance: a conceptual framework

“…These terms were selected as the most commonly used terms for -and semantically related to -NFR if the specific term 'nonfinancial' was not used. We included all journals, not just high-ranking ones, as the research field is relatively undeveloped, especially within top-tier accounting journals (Cho et al, 2022;Massaro et al, 2016). Our review yielded 503 articles.…”

“…Our framework provides a clear conceptualisation of influences on the relationship between NFR and corporate governance. This could be useful for researchers to further explore complex dynamics embedded in this relationship, and identify, measure, or study the topic in-depth to nurture future research, which can be positioned within top-tier accounting journals (Cho et al, 2022). For instance, in order for non-financial disclosures to be effective in changing corporate behaviour, we need a better understanding of their impact on corporate governance mechanisms and vice versa.…”

“…Recently, Erin et al (2021) found that corporate governance -measured through board governance variables and audit committee attributes -significantly affects sustainability reporting quality. Although sustainability accounting research holds a relatively influential position, and the critical relationship between reporting and governance is stressed in several corporate governance guidelines such as the UK Combined Code (Calder, 2008) and the King IV governance code in South Africa (IODSA, 2016), the relationship between NFR and corporate governance has received little research attention from top-tier accounting journals (Cho et al, 2022;Lai et al, 2019). Therefore, the overarching research question (RQ) for this paper is: What is the relationship between NFR and corporate governance?…”

“…These studies are likely to be limited by the suitability of proxies for corporate governance mechanisms that do not accurately reflect the actual mechanisms at play (Bhagal, Bolton and Romano, 2008). Our review highlights a lack of qualitative research, hampering our understanding of organisational change at a deeper level (Cho et al, 2022;Eriksson, 2015). The dominance of quantitative research methods in the corporate governance field has meant that corporate governance processes remain poorly understood by academics (Parker, 2017).…”

“…Qualitative research can enable a deeper understanding of corporate governance mechanisms for NFR (Erin et al, 2022;Parker, 2017;Yin, 2014). Accounting research can carve out a leading role in this context, highlighting the need for improved integration of sustainability issues, and encouraging scholarly focus on sustainability accounting (Cho et al, 2022;Busco and Quattrone, 2018). This should encourage an organisational focus on sustainability, towards the creation of long-term sustainable value (De Villiers and Maroun, 2018).…”