Drivers of Expansion of Social Accountingand Reporting: Indication of Bibliometric Trends

Abstract

Background. Due to the demand of stakeholders for information about social and environmental aspects of business, the system of social accounting and reporting (SAR) has become important in promoting the ideology of sustainable development at the micro-level. Conducting SAR research provides socio-ecological reporting practices with a theoretical basis for further development and improvement. The bibliometric evaluation of SAR publications enables the identification of promising trends in the research domain evolution, which will accelerate its effective development. The article aims to substantiate the issues of further research on reporting, which is compiled according to the data of social accounting, based on the analysis of bibliometric characteristics and the assessment of trends in the evolution of the topic of scientific publications on SAR. Methods. Bibliometric methods of scientific productivity and thematic and chronological clustering of keywords have been applied to a combined sample of 401 SAR articles indexed in Scopus and Web of Science from 1970 to 2023. Results. The aggravation of ecological and social problems has made SAR topics relevant for scientists from all continents after 2007. Authors from developed countries, who initiated this research domain, have the highest number of articles and citations. The analysis of the scientific productivity of the domain indicates a significant impact of its ideas on related scientific areas. Organizational and legal aspects of social accounting, modeling social accounting matrices and issues related to environmental accounting and sustainability reporting are the most significant thematic areas within SAR domain. Conclusions. According to the chronology of its appearance and evolution, the scientific ideas of SAR are significantly ahead of the sustainability concept as a worldview ideology of the 21st century. The SAR domain has a high level of autonomy in the formation and development of thematic research areas. The implementation of Directive 2022/2464/EU can stimulate the use of social accounting tools and as well as activate research on the impact of sustainability reporting on corporate governance effectiveness and firm performance.