A retrospective of earnings management research: charting the knowledge base, intellectual structure, and way forward

Owing to the dearth of comprehensive synopses in the published literature, this study endeavours to uncover the knowledge base and intellectual structure of 'earnings management' research. Over 2000 to January 2021, 1,678 articles from peer-reviewed journals are examined. Bibliometric analysis is used to identify the most prominent years, countries, journals, authors, articles, and keywords. Citation network, co-authorship analysis, and keyword co-occurrence analysis uncover the knowledge base. Cluster analysis of 138 articles coupled with content analysis delineates the intellectual structure. The publication trend reveals that research on earnings management has gathered momentum from 2015-2016, with accounting journals being the most productive. Developed countries like the USA, Australia, the UK, and parts of Europe dominate the landscape, with China as an exception. Six major clusters emerge. Network analysis illustrates the evolution of clusters over time. Keyword analysis reveals the advancement of earnings management as a multidisciplinary field, with studies on corporate governance taking centre stage. The study helps scholars to gauge the current stock of literature and the way forward on earnings management research, enables governing bodies to make policy-oriented efforts, and sensitises managers in instituting accountability.