Mapping Ethics Education in Accounting Research: A Bibliometric Analysis

Area of Science:

• Accounting Education Research
• Business Ethics
• Bibliometrics

Background:

• Increasing attention on ethics education in accounting post-corporate scandals.
• Need for a comprehensive overview of existing research in accounting ethics education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a comprehensive overview of research on ethics education in accounting.
• To analyze the historical evolution and thematic clusters of this research field.

Main Methods:

• Bibliometric analysis of 134 primary studies.
• Historiography for historical evolution visualization.
• Bibliographic coupling and co-word analysis for cluster identification and contextual mapping.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated increasing academic focus and number of research clusters over decades.
• Identified evolving clusters: 'Factors affecting moral judgement,' 'Perception of ethics,' and 'Lack of ethics topics.'
• New clusters emerged: 'Accounting beyond technical skills,' 'Integration of ethics in accounting education,' 'Use of developed ethics frameworks,' and 'Professional values.'

Conclusions:

• The field of ethics education in accounting is expanding with new thematic areas.
• Research patterns reflect a growing demand for ethics integration in accounting curricula.
• A research agenda is proposed to guide future studies in this domain.