Intellectual structure of research in business ethics

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huilin Xiao ◽  
Yanling Wang ◽  
Weifeng Li ◽  
Zhenzhong Ma

Purpose The study aims to map the intellectual structure of business ethics studies by analyzing 17,246 citations of 225 papers published in Business Ethics Quarterly (BEQ) in the year between 2005 and 2014. Specifically, the purpose of the study is to describe the current state of BEQ, identify the most influential journals and works, identify the key themes of business ethics studies during 2005-2014 and, at the same time, report the changes in themes by making a comparison between two time periods – 2005-2009 and 2010-2014. Design/methodology/approach First, the study presents the information of the authors, institutions and countries that contribute to BEQ with a statistical analysis. Second, the study identifies the most cited journals and works in BEQ during 2005-2014 with a citation analysis. Third, the study identifies the key research themes in business ethics studies with a co-citation analysis. With the help of factor and social network analysis (NA), the study groups the research themes and maps their links. Findings First, the statistical results show that many well-known researchers from famous US institutions publishing in BEQ. Second, the citation analysis results show that quite a few journals become mature gradually in business ethics domain. Besides, most of the influential works are normative and theoretical. Third, the co-citation results indicate that “stakeholder management” and “corporate social responsibility” (CSR) are two main themes in business ethics studies in the past decade. Specifically, “stakeholder management” attracts the most research interests in both two sub-time periods. In addition, compared with the pure studies on CSR during 2005-2009, increasing researchers are keen on the theme of “political CSR under globalization” in the second five years. Meanwhile, other focus like “society, state and business ethics” earns a certain degree of attention in the time window 2005-2009. And “accountability in MNCs” and “political philosophy” are the new concerns in the year between 2010 and 2014. Originality/value The study confirms BEQ’s leadership role in business ethics domain. And, it further proves that business ethics has evolved as an independent discipline. It also helps the researchers to have a concise knowledge of the main contents and key points of business ethics research. Methodologically, co-citation analysis combined with factor and NA provides clear results and visualized figures which can be understood easily by the researchers and practitioners.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dangzhi Zhao ◽  
Andreas Strotmann

PurposeThis study continues a long history of author co-citation analysis of the intellectual structure of information science into the time period of 2011–2020. It also examines changes in this structure from 2006–2010 through 2011–2015 to 2016–2020. Results will contribute to a better understanding of the information science research field.Design/methodology/approachThe well-established procedures and techniques for author co-citation analysis were followed. Full records of research articles in core information science journals published during 2011–2020 were retrieved and downloaded from the Web of Science database. About 150 most highly cited authors in each of the two five-year time periods were selected from this dataset to represent this field, and their co-citation counts were calculated. Each co-citation matrix was input into SPSS for factor analysis, and results were visualized in Pajek. Factors were interpreted as specialties and labeled upon an examination of articles written by authors who load primarily on each factor.FindingsThe two-camp structure of information science continued to be present clearly. Bibliometric indicators for research evaluation dominated the Knowledge Domain Analysis camp during both fivr-year time periods, whereas interactive information retrieval (IR) dominated the IR camp during 2011–2015 but shared dominance with information behavior during 2016–2020. Bridging between the two camps became increasingly weaker and was only provided by the scholarly communication specialty during 2016–2020. The IR systems specialty drifted further away from the IR camp. The information behavior specialty experienced a deep slump during 2011–2020 in its evolution process. Altmetrics grew to dominate the Webometrics specialty and brought it to a sharp increase during 2016–2020.Originality/valueAuthor co-citation analysis (ACA) is effective in revealing intellectual structures of research fields. Most related studies used term-based methods to identify individual research topics but did not examine the interrelationships between these topics or the overall structure of the field. The few studies that did discuss the overall structure paid little attention to the effect of changes to the source journals on the results. The present study does not have these problems and continues the long history of benchmark contributions to a better understanding of the information science field using ACA.


2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 34-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Jia ◽  
Nianxin Wang ◽  
Shilun Ge

The purpose of this article is to portray the knowledge evolution paths of business-IT alignment (BITA) research and identify a set of important papers in the development of BITA, and elucidate the intellectual structure of this field. This study collected 309 papers published during the period 1983-2015 from the Web of Science (WOS) database. Using a variety of bibliometric and visualization analytic techniques such as citation analysis, co-citation analysis and main path analysis, this article (1) delineates the significant knowledge flows of BITA research and identifies 15 important papers in this field; (2) graphically maps the influential countries, institutions, and journals of BITA research; (3) identifies four major research themes: BITA model, measurement, antecedents, and dynamics, and visualizing the relationships among them. Based on these findings, recommendations for the future research directions have suggested. This article provides IT practitioners, executives, and scholars with a new perspective to get a better understanding of BITA.


2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 286-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Callaghan ◽  
Greg Wood

Purpose – The aim of this research was to determine the evolution of engagement with business ethics in the top 500 Australian corporations operating in the private sector from 1995 to 2010. Design/methodology/approach – Primary data were obtained via a non-sponsored and unsolicited self-administered mail questionnaire distributed to a census of the top 500 Australian companies operating in the private sector administered in both 1995 and 2010. This paper examines and compares the responses of the companies that possessed a code of ethics at those times. Findings – This paper finds that business ethics has continued to evolve over the period of the study and that, in most cases, such an evolution has been positive, with the majority of companies exhibiting high levels of engagement. Research limitations/implications – While the responses provided a rich picture of the evolution of Australian corporate engagement with business ethics, further longitudinal research exploring international and cross-cultural contexts would add to this understanding of organisational engagement. Practical and social implications – It would seem that codes of ethics have evolved beyond a regulatory requirement and are now considered an integral component of the corporate culture and commercial practice in the majority of Australia’s top 500 companies. Originality/value – Despite a history of business ethics research, longitudinal studies seeking to understand the evolution of corporate engagement to business ethics are exceedingly rare. This paper, unique and original in its focus on an Australian context, provides a basis for future studies focused on exploring international and cross-cultural contexts. This paper makes a substantive and valuable contribution to the literature as it quantifies the evolution of corporate engagement over a 15-year period.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 503-534
Author(s):  
Mehmet Ali Köseoğlu ◽  
John Parnell

PurposeThe authors evaluate the evolution of the intellectual structure of strategic management (SM) by employing a document co-citation analysis through a network analysis for academic citations in articles published in the Strategic Management Journal (SMJ).Design/methodology/approachThe authors employed the co-citation analysis through the social network analysis.FindingsThe authors outlined the evolution of the academic foundations of the structure and emphasized several domains. The economic foundation of SM research with macro and micro perspectives has generated a solid knowledge stock in the literature. Industrial organization (IO) psychology has also been another dominant foundation. Its robust development and extension in the literature have focused on cognitive issues in actors' behaviors as a behavioral foundation of SM. Methodological issues in SM research have become dominant between 2004 and 2011, but their influence has been inconsistent. The authors concluded by recommending future directions to increase maturity in the SM research domain.Originality/valueThis is the first paper to elucidate the intellectual structure of SM by adopting the co-citation analysis through the social network analysis.


2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 560-587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Basak Denizci Guillet

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the evolution of revenue management (RM) research’s intellectual structure in hospitality and tourism in an effort to initiate a creative discourse for RM scholars. Design/methodology/approach Co-citation analysis was used to examine the reference list of 343 articles over a 35-year period (1983-2018). Co-citation analysis focused on subject clustering and source knowledge evolution. Five periods were created to investigate the evolution of the RM field in the hospitality and tourism industry. The paradigm shift approach was adopted to acquire a better understanding of scientific evolution. Findings Findings indicated that from a Kuhnian perspective, RM research in hospitality and tourism did not go beyond the normal science phase. There is no current indication of anomalies in the form of conflict or questioning of the existing paradigms in RM research in hospitality and tourism. This might change, as the research in this realm develops further and evolves. Research limitations/implications This study identified issues related to research themes that have the potential of moving RM research in hospitality and tourism to the next level, enabling the paradigm shift in this discipline. Originality/value This study is instrumental in its outlook on the evolution of RM research’s intellectual structure in hospitality and tourism. In addition, it is the first study that considers the concept of paradigm shift in RM research context in hospitality and tourism.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 1769-1786 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sascha Kraus ◽  
Hongbo Li ◽  
Qi Kang ◽  
Paul Westhead ◽  
Victor Tiberius

PurposeQuantitative bibliometric approaches were used to statistically and objectively explore patterns in the sharing economy literature.Design/methodology/approachJournal (co-)citation analysis, author (co-)citation analysis, institution citation and co-operation analysis, keyword co-occurrence analysis, document (co-)citation analysis and burst detection analysis were conducted based on a bibliometric data set relating to sharing economy publications.FindingsSharing economy research is multi- and interdisciplinary. Journals focused upon products liability, organizing framework, profile characteristics, diverse economies, consumption system and everyday life themes. Authors focused upon profile characteristics, sharing economy organization, social connections, first principle and diverse economy themes. No institution dominated the research field. Keyword co-occurrence analysis identified organizing framework, tourism industry, consumer behavior, food waste, generous exchange and quality cue as research themes. Document co-citation analysis found research themes relating to the tourism industry, exploring public acceptability, agri-food system, commercial orientation, products liability and social connection. Most cited authors, institutions and documents are reported.Research limitations/implicationsThe study did not exclusively focus on publications in top-tier journals. Future studies could run analyses relating to top-tier journals alone, and then run analyses relating to less renowned journals alone. To address the potential fuzzy results concern, reviews could focus on business and/or management research alone. Longitudinal reviews conducted over several points in time are warranted. Future reviews could combine qualitative and quantitative approaches.Originality/valueWe contribute by analyzing information relating to the population of all sharing economy articles. In addition, we contribute by employing several quantitative bibliometric approaches that enable the identification of trends relating to the themes and patterns in the growing literature.


2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 358-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keng-Chieh Yang

Purpose In the past few decades, there has been a lot of literature about trust research for business and management. However, few authors have applied co-citation analysis. Design/methodology/approach Trust is one of the most discussed issues in management, as it has proved to have an essential role in business operations. In this study, all citation documents are included in Thomson Reuters ISI Web of Knowledge database from 1992 to 2010. Findings By using statistics analysis including factor analysis, cluster analysis and multidimensional scaling, researchers identified four domains, including organizational behaviour, strategic alliance, marketing and social capital. Directions for future research are discussed. Originality/value This study is the first to apply co-citation techniques in the fields of trust. Therefore, the major contribution of this study is to provide an intellectual structure and trends within the field of trust from an objective and quantitative perspective.


2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 462-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muh-Chyun Tang ◽  
Weijen Teng ◽  
Miaohua Lin

Purpose One of the chief purposes of bibliometric analysis is to reveal the intellectual structure of a knowledge domain. Yet due to the magnitude and the heterogeneous nature of bibliometric networks, some sorts of filtering procedures are often required to make the resulting network interpretable. A co-word analysis of more than 135,000 scholarly publications on Buddhism was conducted to compare the intellectual structure of Buddhist studies in three language communities, Chinese, English and Japanese, over two periods (1957–1986 and 1987–2016). Six co-word similarity networks were created so social network analysis-based community-detection algorithm can be identified to compare major research themes in different languages and eras. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach A series of filtering procedures was performed to exclude less discriminatory keywords and spurious relationships of a large, cross-language co-word network in Buddhist studies. Chief among the filtering heuristics was a percolation-transition based method to determine the similarity threshold that involves observing the relative decrease of nodes in the giant component with the increasing similarity threshold. Findings It was found that the topical patterns in the Chinese and Japanese scholarship of Buddhism are alike and observably distinct from that of the English scholarship. Furthermore, a far more drastic changes of research themes were observed in the English literature relative to the Chinese and Japanese literature. Originality/value The filtering procedures were shown to greatly enhance the modularity values and limited the number of modularity classes; thus, domain expert interpretation is feasible.


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