A Citational Analysis of the Accounting Information Network

The flow of messages between the accounting system and other knowledge systems and within the accounting knowledge system is examined, paying particular attention to the information flow between the academic and applied accounting networks.

Abstract

Citations appended to journal articles give us a measure of the number of formal messages passed between knowledge systems. They also provide a possible index for measuring the influence of one knowledge system on another. The accounting knowledge system nests within the social science knowledge system and is itself composed of at least three subsystems: an academic system, a management accounting system, and a professional system. An important component of each of these knowledge subsystems is the set of various journals which collect, store, and distribute information to their readers. Figure 1 presents a graphical description of the various component parts of the accounting knowledge system. In this paper, I examine first the flow of messages between the accounting system and other knowledge systems, and then the flow of messages within the accounting knowledge system, paying particular attention to the information flow between the academic and applied accounting networks. This will be followed by a citational profile of certain accounting journals. It should be emphasized that no qualitative connotation is implied by the analysis. The article provides an inventory of information flow within the accounting journal network.