Bibliometric Analysis of Earnings Response Coefficient: A Measure of Market Reaction to a Company’s Earnings Announcements and Key Drivers of Investor

The Earnings Response Coefficient (ERC) has emerged as a pivotal topic in academic literature and financial practice, elucidating the critical relationship between corporate earnings information and market response, which directly impacts corporate performance evaluation and investment decision-making. This study aims to identify the most frequently researched topics in the Earnings Response Coefficient domain, explore the basic concepts and theoretical frameworks underlying ERC research, and propose potential future research directions in the field, all within finance and investment management. This research employs bibliometric analysis to use data from Google Scholar and Scopus, accessed through Publish or Perish (PoP), to evaluate the literature’s performance, explore related topics, and identify research trends, thereby deepening the understanding of ERC studies. The findings reveal that income smoothing and intellectual capital disclosure have a significant impact but low connectedness, indicating a need for deeper exploration to heighten their relevance in ERC studies. Research on corporate social responsibility exhibits a high degree of interconnectedness and substantial impact. Underexplored topics such as economic uncertainty and analysts’ influence require greater attention to understand their contributions fully. This study identifies publication trends and citation networks related to ERC, provides insights into researcher collaborations, and offers guidance for academics, practitioners, and policymakers to enrich their understanding, develop more effective earnings management strategies, and design regulations that bolster market transparency and efficiency in the realm of finance and investment management. This research is particularly beneficial for practitioners, as it helps evaluate more effective earnings management strategies and understand the market’s response to earnings information, ultimately enhancing firm value. For policymakers, this study provides a framework for designing regulations and policies that support financial information transparency and market efficiency to enhance economic stability and investor confidence.