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A Big-Data Approach to Understanding the Thematic Landscape of the Field of Business Ethics, 1982–2016

Author

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  • Ying Liu

    (Boston University)

  • Feng Mai

    (Stevens Institute of Technology)

  • Chris MacDonald

    (Ryerson University)

Abstract

This study focuses on examining the thematic landscape of the history of scholarly publication in business ethics. We analyze the titles, abstracts, full texts, and citation information of all research papers published in the field’s leading journal, the Journal of Business Ethics, from its inaugural issue in February 1982 until December 2016—a dataset that comprises 6308 articles and 42 million words. Our key method is a computational algorithm known as probabilistic topic modeling, which we use to examine objectively the field’s latent thematic landscape based on the vast volume of scholarly texts. This “big-data” approach allows us not only to provide time-specific snapshots of various research topics, but also to track the dynamic evolution of each topic over time. We further examine the pattern of individual papers’ topic diversity and the influence of individual papers’ topic diversity on their impact over time. We conclude this study with our recommendation for future studies in business ethics research.

Suggested Citation

  • Ying Liu & Feng Mai & Chris MacDonald, 2019. "A Big-Data Approach to Understanding the Thematic Landscape of the Field of Business Ethics, 1982–2016," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 160(1), pages 127-150, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:160:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1007_s10551-018-3806-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-018-3806-5
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    3. Bag, Surajit & Rahman, Muhammad Sabbir & Srivastava, Gautam & Shore, Adam & Ram, Pratibha, 2023. "Examining the role of virtue ethics and big data in enhancing viable, sustainable, and digital supply chain performance," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 186(PB).
    4. Kumar, Vivek & Srivastava, Arpita, 2022. "Trends in the thematic landscape of corporate social responsibility research: A structural topic modeling approach," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 26-37.
    5. Joseph Pozsgai-Alvarez & Iván Pastor Sanz, 2021. "Mapping the (anti-)corruption field: key topics and changing trends, 1968–2020," Journal of Computational Social Science, Springer, vol. 4(2), pages 851-881, November.
    6. Simona Fiandrino & Alberto Tonelli, 2021. "A Text-Mining Analysis on the Review of the Non-Financial Reporting Directive: Bringing Value Creation for Stakeholders into Accounting," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-18, January.
    7. Arindam Das & Dimple Grover, 2022. "Ethical climates in South Asian Organizations: empirical findings from India," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 2(6), pages 1-26, June.
    8. Sarah Federman, 2021. "Corporate Leadership and Mass Atrocity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 172(3), pages 407-423, September.

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