The Impact of Ball and Brown (1968) on Generations of Research

Abstract

We consider the influence of Ball and Brown (1968) using citation and visualisation techniques. Prior studies have largely used direct citations to Ball and Brown (1968) to measure the impact of this seminal research. We argue that direct citations greatly under-estimate the impact of seminal research. We examine two generations of citations in leading accounting and finance journals to conduct a network analysis of the evolution of citations to research through time. We find that including only two degrees of separation from Ball and Brown (1968) increases the number of citations by over ten times the number of direct citations. We also consider the synergies between ideas that are a major factor in stimulating research progress by documenting the extensive networks of citation relations between the publications that can be linked back to Ball and Brown (1968).