Mapping the emergence of the theme of corruption in the area of corporate governance: a bibliometric review of the literature

Abstract

Objective: Despite the evident theoretical importance of corporate governance as a mechanism for controlling corrupt practices, as far as we know there are no review articles that relate these themes. In this sense, the objective of this article is to map the emergence and evolution of corruption in the area of corporate governance and present the state of the art and trends in future studies on these topics. Method: This article is a bibliometric review, it is a statistical analysis method that provides a quantitative understanding of the academic literature on a given scientific field. The bibliometric techniques used are cocotation analysis and bibliographic matching analysis. In other words, we sought to understand the theoretical roots and identify the frontiers of knowledge. Results: In the co-citation analysis, 4 theoretical clusters (theoretical bases) were identified and in the pairing, 6 theoretical clusters (frontiers of knowledge) were identified. It is clear from the graphic mappings that current research (frontiers) has more congruence between the different themes, while the research that forms the theoretical bases is more idiosyncratic. Originality/Relevance: As far as we know, this is one of the first articles to store knowledge about corruption in the area of corporate governance and cluster it into theoretical bases and boundaries. Theoretical/methodological contributions: The pairing analysis identified the following main topics in vogue: Disclosure of sustainability reports; Institutional Theories; Political connections; Corporate Governance Control Mechanisms; National culture; Foreign investments; Organizational performance; Financial paper; Factors determining bribery; and role of national and international regulatory agencies.