Bibliometric insights into green accounting research: analysing trends, impact, and theoretical foundations

This paper argues that the structure of corporate ownership varies systematically in ways that are consistent with value maximization. Among the variables that are empirically significant in explaining the variation in ownership structure for 511 U.S. corporations are firm size, instability of profit rate, whether or not the firm is a regulated utility or financial institution, and whether or not the firm is in the mass media or sports industry. Doubt is cast on the Berle-Means thesis, as no significant relationship is found between ownership concentration and accounting profit rates for this set of firms.

AGAINST POSTMODERNISM: CLASS ORIENTED QUESTIONS FOR CRITICAL ACCOUNTING

The role of sustainability accounting in promoting organizational change toward more sustainable practices is a relevant area of research for both accounting and organization studies. Despite the interdisciplinary nature of this topic, while accounting research was imagining and exploring the transformative potential of social and environmental accounting practices since the inception of this activity, scholars in organization studies have recently developed a more general interest in this matter. This article aims to review how the association between sustainability accounting and reporting and sustainable organizational change has been examined in both disciplines to elaborate on some potential bridges to foster the creation of an interdisciplinary research field around this association, where a fertile conversation could develop. The mapping of this literature prompts us to propose five bridges around: how accounting and reporting are conceived; the direction of causality between sustainability accounting and organizational change; the assemblage of explanatory factors; theoretical foundations; and research methods.

Purpose This study aims to examine how the academic literature on climate-related financial risk disclosures, arising from the physical impacts of climate change and the transition to a low-carbon economy, has evolved following the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and assess the extent to which this literature engages with core accounting constructs. It also aims to identify sources of conceptual fragmentation and to inform future accounting research on climate-related disclosures. Design/methodology/approach The authors conduct a systematic review of 108 academic articles published between 2010 and 2025, supplemented by the TCFD recommendations. Using qualitative thematic analysis, the review classifies studies into five research domains and examines their theoretical foundations under evolving regulatory frameworks, including IFRS S2 and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards. Findings The literature clusters into five domains: reporting and disclosure; risk and resilience; TCFD implementation; financial implications of climate-related reporting; and quantification of climate risk. Even with rapid growth, the literature remains fragmented across disciplines, with limited engagement with accounting issues such as materiality determination, assurance, measurement and convergence across reporting regimes. Climate-related disclosures are predominantly analysed as external communication mechanisms rather than as inputs into recognised and audited financial statement items. Originality/value This study provides an accounting-centred synthesis of climate-related financial disclosure research by explicitly linking existing work to foundational accounting debates on materiality, assurance, measurement and standard convergence. It extends prior reviews by offering a coherent framework to guide future empirical and conceptual research.

Some have argued that the absence of a unifying theory has limited the contribution of Accounting Information Systems (AIS) to accounting research and practice. Hunton (2006) proposed the Science of Informatics as a unifying theory. Informatics is an interdisciplinary science that studies the representation, processing and communication of information in natural and artificial systems. The panel discussion, “Informatics: Should This Be the Next Theoretical Paradigm for AIS?”, held at the 2007 AIS Educator Conference, explores this topic. Some panelists expressed concern about the effect on accounting software design and on publishing in top journals of adopting informatics as a theoretical foundation. Others suggested that informatics could provide legitimacy by linking AIS research to the mainstream accounting research. Some panelists believed that an informatics foundation would better position AIS research relative to accounting research and increase funding. Consensus opinion noted the value of more research into the contribution of informatics as a theoretical foundation for AIS. This paper briefly reviews the Science of Informatics, summarizes the panel discussion, and concludes with suggestions for integrating informatics into AIS education.

Bibliometric insights into green accounting research: analysing trends, impact, and theoretical foundations

Politicians, Interest Groups, and Regulators: A Multiple-Principals Agency Theory of Regulation, or "Let Them Be Bribed"

The mandatory adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), enforced by Regulation (EC) No. 1606/2002, may be particularly upsetting in the European countries with strong traditions of accounting theory and regulation. This paper presents an investigation that stresses the importance of previous accounting solutions which were developed nationally to face the challenge of adopting an exogenously developed set of international accounting standards, such as IFRS, in the current EU setting. The research focuses on Italy and reviews the “patrimonial” accounting approach developed in the 1880s by Fabio Besta (1845-1922), an Italian scholar who is unanimously considered to be the initiator of the modern accounting theory in Italy. His approach was in use in Italy until the 1970s, after which the approach of another scholar, Gino Zappa (1879-1960), has been followed. Fabio Besta shifted from a personalistic to a materialistic (or nonpersonalistic) theory of accounts. He put forward new ideas quite similar in many respects to the modern AngloAmerican theoretical approaches to accounting (Zambon, 2001; Viganò and Mattessich, 2007). The “patrimonial” accounting theory focuses on the firm’s wealth, as reflected in the balance sheet, and on its valuation. It evokes the so-called “asset and liability view”, which is the approach used by several standardsetting bodies, e.g. FASB and IASB, to develop conceptual frameworks (Johnson, 2004). Such an approach defines the objective of financial statements as providing information on the firm’s financial position interpreted as the firm’s wealth. Assets and liabilities are defined as resources and obligations and are regarded to be the primary indicators of the wealth of a firm. Revenues and expenses are indirectly defined in terms of changes inassets and liabilities (Sprouse and Moonitz, 1962). Accordingly, income measures the increase or decrease in the firm’s wealth (FASB, 1976). This paper begins with an analysis of Besta’s theory, and then proceeds to compare Besta’s theory with the IFRS conceptual framework and measurement criteria, showing several similarities. In particular, it emerges that both approaches are built on the same theoretical foundations, namely the “patrimonial” accounting perspective and the atominstic-reductionist view of the firm’s wealth. In conclusion, this study appraises anew Fabio Besta’s thought in the age of IFRS. His theoretical perspectives might help to understand better and thereby more effectively evaluate the present accounting context, such to possibly favour a better contribution from contemporary accounting researchers in the new international scenario where accounting standards have been developing.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the development of management accounting research from three perspectives: reserach topics, theoretical foundations, and research methods. We base our discussion on previous literature reviews in the US, Australia, China, Finland, and other countries. We propose research opportunities in the field of management accounting in Indonesia. We argue that certain topics such as budgeting, performance evaluation, and management accounting techniques implementation are still interesting topics to study further in Indonesia context. As many studies have supported theoretical and practical development, we conjecture that management accounting research in Indonesia should be conducted to answer the question of ‘what does happen’ instead of ‘what should happen’. In line with the conjecture, we contend that research is to focus on practicality aspects and the endeavor to find new frontiers in management accounting practice.Keywords: management accounting research, management accounting theory

This study is intended to identify recent research developments related to the topic of green accounting and its correlations with sustainability performance. The analysis was conducted using R Biblioshiny for initial visualization, and VOSviewer for research network mapping and topic clustering. The study involved at least 1684 documents published between 1991 and early 2024. The study found a progress in research related to green accounting and sustainability performance. According to affiliation and country, green accounting and sustainability performance research is dominated by China. There are ten clusters formed, such as sustainability and green economy, as well as sustainability performance and sustainability economy. This study provides researchers with an understanding of the dynamics of green accounting and sustainability performance research and suggests potential areas of emerging research. While this research appears to have been conducted thoroughly, it is limited by the coverage of the Scopus database, which may not include all relevant publications. The originality of this study lies in the use of a systematic bibliometric approach to analyze green accounting and sustainability performance, which has not been done in the previous literature.

This study aims to provide a deeper analysis of the effect of green accounting and environmental performance on profitability, especially for companies engaged in the oil and gas sector. The research method used in this study is systematic literature observation with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta Analyses (PRISMA) approach. Research data from articles collected from 500 articles sourced from the Harzing's Publish or Perish application using Google Scholar sources, then filtered into 27 relevant articles. The results of the study showed 5 articles stating that green accounting and environmental performance had a positive effect and 9 articles were also found discussing only one variable with a positive effect, 5 articles on green accounting variables and 4 articles on environmental performance variables. In general, these results explain that entities that apply the concept of green accounting and have environmental performance as much as 51% of the research data tend to increase long-term profitability. This is due to increased trust from stakeholders and compliance with applicable environmental regulations. However, the study also found that green accounting and environmental performance research still faces various challenges as evidenced by the weakness of the research

I n 2008, the Research and Publications Committee of the Information Systems Section of the American Accounting Association decided to sponsor a special issue of the Journal of Information Systems (JIS) entitled ‘‘Reviews of Information Systems Research.’’ The objective of the special issue is to ‘‘publish papers that review a stream of research in information systems (IS) broadly defined.’’ The Committee intended that submissions would review and integrate the IS (information systems) and AIS (accounting information systems) literatures and suggest future research directions in both disciplines. The special issue followed a previous valiant and groundbreaking effort in IS/AIS research integration for the IS section by Professors Vicky Arnold and Steve Sutton (Arnold and Sutton 2002). As editor of this special issue, I took a somewhat different approach to the task than is normal. First, rather than a regular call for papers, I requested researchers to submit extended abstracts. The objectives of this approach were to ensure that the scope of the proposed article was concomitant with the objective of the special issue and to identify any potential overlaps in subject matter. In this process, I was able to negotiate the amalgamation of several writing teams. I also ensured that where there was commonality in subject matter, the writing teams were introduced to each other and worked to manage the writing process. Second, I had clear views on how the papers should be structured. As an author of one of the chapters in the earlier monograph for the IS section, I was impressed with the systematic approach Dr. Arnold took to ensuring a common approach in the structure of the contributions and the discipline exercised in ensuring that the goals of the monograph were achieved. It is simpler to achieve a common approach in a monograph than it is in separate papers in JIS. My ambition was, then, to strongly suggest directions to authors but not to mandate a single approach. As a consumer of many literature reviews, I realize how easy it is to maroon readers in a Sargasso Sea, not knowing how to navigate their way. Readers need clear navigational markers and a sense of direction. Third, I saw the review process as a mutual exercise among writing teams, reviewers, and myself as editor. Given the scope of this exercise, I deliberately took a more active editorial role than is normal. These objectives probably added somewhat to the time taken for publication but did, I believe, improve the quality of the papers.

A continuity method that is in line with recent advancements in the accounting industry is green accounting. The economy is one of the many areas that green accounting affects. Information that is precise, accountable, and transparent is provided to stakeholders through the application of Green Accounting to environmental accounting. The most important research publications in green accounting as well as statistical trends in the field are the focus of this study. Research data was gathered and examined from 1000 publications using the keyword "Green Accounting" on Google Scholar using the VOSviewer software. The results of research on green accounting conducted over the last ten years, from 2014 to 2024, are significant to study and a subject that academics frequently write about, according to the processed data. The research results provide a systematic contribution to Green Accounting research.

Research Objective: This study examines the contribution of research to the development of green accounting, both theoretically and practically, and offers recommendations for future research based on a literature mapping. The literature review method was used, employing Harzing’s Publish or Perish (Window GUI Edition 8) application with Google Scholar as the source, using the keyword "green accounting." The data collected comprises 18 articles from open journal systems, 3 of which are nationally accredited at Sinta 4. Research Findings: This study shows that implementing green accounting can improve financial performance and investor appeal, demonstrating mutually beneficial economic and social benefits. The integration of religious values and local culture strengthens the implementation of green accounting, creating strong social and moral support. Environmental education plays a crucial role in promoting future awareness and practice of green accounting. Green accounting can enhance profitability and operational efficiency, proving that sustainability and economic gain can coexist. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as a moderating factor can strengthen the effects of green accounting on company value and sustainability. Transparency and accountability in environmental reporting improve corporate reputation and meet stakeholder expectations. Conclusion: There was a peak in green accounting research in 2017, followed by a decline in research on this theme by 2023.

The purpose of this research is to explore and examine the management of green accounting as a form of corporate responsibility and to enhance the entity's reputation. The data used is secondary data derived from various studies written by authors and published in accredited national journals. The population used comprises various green accounting studies in Indonesia. The sampling technique in this study is technology-assisted, using the Publish or Perish application edition 8 with sources from Google Scholar. The research method used in this study is a literature review with samples taken from accredited national journals on the topic of green accounting, covering the publication years from 2005 to 2024. The collected data includes volume, issue number, research objectives, keywords, research methods, population, research samples, and conclusions. The results indicate that there are 70 scientific articles spread across SINTA 2 to 6, showing that green accounting research is increasingly popular in academic studies. The positive impact of implementing green accounting on corporate performance can enhance managerial performance and profitability. Suggestions for further research on green accounting are related to corporate governance, managerial performance, corporate reputation, and the sustainability of green accounting.