Non-Financial Information: State of the Art and Research Perspectives Based on a Bibliometric Study

Comptabilité - Contrôle - Audit (Accounting, Auditing and Control), Forthcoming

50 Pages Posted: 29 Jun 2015 Last revised: 15 Aug 2015

See all articles by Michael H.R. Erkens

Michael H.R. Erkens

Erasmus School of Economics; Nyenrode Business University; Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM)

Luc Paugam

HEC Paris, Accounting and Management Control Department; CFA Society France

Hervé Stolowy

HEC Paris - Accounting and Management Control Department

Date Written: June 28, 2015

Abstract

We conduct a bibliometric analysis of academic articles published on the topic on non-financial information (NFI). We analyze 787 articles published in 53 journals over the timespan 1973 to 2013. We examine several important questions about the state of the art of academic research on NFI: How is NFI defined in the literature? Can NFI be precisely defined? How has the interest for NFI evolved over time in the academic literature? What are the main topics covered by NFI research? What are the main methodologies used by researchers? To what extent are studies country-specific? We find that many articles do not define the notion of NFI but refer to underlying concepts such as social, environmental, human capital or corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting. We document that academic research on NFI has reached a certain degree of maturity around the end of the 1990s/beginning on the 2000s. Several new specialized journals that now capture an important share of the market were created around that time. We find 10 topics covered by research on NFI and show that the most frequent topic studied in NFI research is CSR reporting. We also discover that the volume of research on auditing of NFI is growing whereas management accounting/control research on NFI is relatively limited. We find that the growth of research on NFI is fueled by articles relying on archival (whether quantitative or qualitative) and essay methodologies. Finally, we suggest directions for future research.

Keywords: Non-financial information (NFI), corporate social responsibility (CSR), intellectual capital, environmental reporting, social reporting, literature review, bibliometrics

JEL Classification: M14, M41

Suggested Citation

Erkens, Michael H.R. and Paugam, Luc and Stolowy, Hervé, Non-Financial Information: State of the Art and Research Perspectives Based on a Bibliometric Study (June 28, 2015). Comptabilité - Contrôle - Audit (Accounting, Auditing and Control), Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2624306

Michael H.R. Erkens

Erasmus School of Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 1738
3000 DR Rotterdam, NL 3062 PA
Netherlands

Nyenrode Business University ( email )

Straatweg 25
P.O. Box 130
Breukelen, 3620 AC
Netherlands

Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM) ( email )

P.O. Box 1738
3000 DR Rotterdam
Netherlands

Luc Paugam

HEC Paris, Accounting and Management Control Department ( email )

1 avenue de la libération
Jouy-en-Josas, 78350
France

CFA Society France ( email )

54 avenue Hoche
Paris, 75008
France

Hervé Stolowy (Contact Author)

HEC Paris - Accounting and Management Control Department ( email )

Jouy-en-Josas Cedex
France
+33 1 39 67 94 42 (Phone)
+33 1 39 67 70 86 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.hec.fr/stolowy

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