Free-riding in academic co-authorship: The marginalization of research students

Abstract

This study examines the phenomenon of free-riding in academic co-authorship, focusing particularly on scenarios involving accounting faculty and research students. Using strain theory, illegitimate opportunity theory, and power distance theory, we theoretically examine both the supply and demand sides of the free-riding phenomenon in academic co-authorship. Drawing on 54 semi-structured interviews, our findings reveal that free-riding in academic co-authorship is a widespread problem in Iran and India, though less pronounced in selected developed countries. In the Iranian and Indian contexts, the most frequently observed scenario involves faculty members free-riding from research students. In contrast, in the developed countries studied, the most prevalent scenario is faculty members free-riding from their counterparts. The study identifies meso- and macro-level inefficiencies as the primary root causes of this phenomenon in the developing countries of Iran and India. These include economic challenges, inappropriate formal and informal regulations and norms at universities, cultural issues, over-engagement of faculty in teaching, administrative duties, and non-academic work, as well as a high student-to-faculty ratio. In developed countries, where such inefficiencies are less common, the role of individual characteristics in driving this phenomenon becomes more pronounced. Nonetheless, cultural factors and faculty busyness remain important considerations even in developed countries. Moreover, many interviewees believe that free-riding behavior can be contagious and that experiencing it can lead to pessimism toward co-authorship. Most interviewees from Iran and India perceive free-riding as endemic in their countries' accounting research communities, in contrast to interviewees from developed countries. Drawing on participant insights, this study offers a range of recommendations to address and mitigate free-riding in academic co-authorship.