Co-authorship network analysis in the accounting discipline

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore co-authorship structures in the accounting discipline through social network analysis. For this purpose, we hand-collected the authorship data of 10 863 papers published in 22 accounting journals listed on the Web of Science for the period 2000–2016. The findings indicate that the proportion of multi-author papers has increased over time while the trend away from sole authorship has continued. The network indicators and visualisations reflect that accounting research manifests a small-world property. Despite the large network size, a high number of ties among nodes, the size of giant components and a high clustering coefficient all support this inference. We hope that emphasis on collaboration metrics motivates and encourages researchers to engage with other scholars both locally and abroad. Furthermore, the development of research networks in the analysis period indicates that the trend is moving towards more collaboration; thus, being part of a team or team-making is key to integration with other scholars.