مطالعات تجربی حسابداری مالی (Apr 2024)
Twenty-Five Years of Design Science Methodology in Accounting Research: A Bibliometric Analysis
Abstract
Design Science Research Methodology (DSRM) is a solution-oriented approach for conducting research that transcends mere understanding of existing situations, aiming to generate innovative and novel artifacts to realize desired outcomes. Despite its widespread use in other technical and managerial domains, and more than two decades since the first exploration of DSRM in accounting literature, its true potential went largely unrecognized until the recent years, when it gained unprecedented recognition from accounting researchers. In this pioneering research, we analyze trends, identify influential figures, and map the intellectual and conceptual landscape of accounting research related to DSRM. Utilizing co-word analysis, co-authorship techniques, as well as scientific mapping and word cloud visualization, we scrutinize 51 articles from journals indexed in the most recent Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) list from 2023. Our findings reveal that more than half of the research output is concentrated in the four-year period spanning from 2020 to 2023, signaling a growing interest among accounting researchers in this methodology. The dominant subject areas in design science articles are audit and control, coupled with the integration of emerging technologies and data analytics techniques. The most cited work is Guido Geerts (2011) paper, "A design science research methodology and its application to accounting information systems research" with 140 citations in the Scopus database alone. The most prolific author, Miklos Vasarhelyi, has authored six articles and boasts the most scientific connections with other researchers in this field. The State University of New Jersey, USA, where Vasarhelyi is affiliated, stands as the most prolific institute with eight articles. Guido Geerts receives 177 references from his two articles, earning him the title of the most cited author in the realm of design science in accounting research, while the University of Delaware, where he is affiliated, is also the most cited university. Among countries contributing to this field, the United States leads with the highest number of productive articles and references, totaling 33 articles and 555 references. The International Journal of Accounting Information Systems has published the most articles (20) and received the most references (464). The findings of this research illuminate bibliographic factors, relationships, and thematic orientations within design science research in accounting. They inform researchers and policymakers about the current status and trajectory of this methodology, providing a foundation for the advancement of solution-oriented and applied research in the field of accounting. IntroductionApplied research that seeks solutions to practical issues cannot be pursued through natural science research methods as they aim to design and implement solutions to improve the current situation. For this purpose, the methodology of design science (Simon, 1996) was introduced. Although accounting is a practical field of knowledge, this methodology is less known and utilized in accounting, until the last five years, when it was embraced by accounting and auditing researchers. Thus, in this study, we investigate the bibliometric factors and trends in accounting research using the design science research methodology (DSRM) to answer the following questions:RQ1: What are the main topics of articles related to design science research methodology?RQ2: What are the emerging topics in design science research in accounting?RQ3: Which are the most cited articles, the most prolific authors, the most prolific universities, the most prolific journals, and the most prolific countries in DSRM in accounting?Literature reviewDSRM is a research methodology that focuses on problem-solving (March & Storey, 2008), and its purpose is to create and evaluate artifacts that are used to solve organizational problems through transforming the current state into a desired state (Hevner et al., 2004; March & Smith, 1995; March & Storey, 2008). Considering the focus of this science on problem-solving, the application of design science research can potentially reduce the existing gap between theory and practice (Aken, 2004, 2005; Romme, 2003). MethodologyBibliometric analysis is the application of quantitative techniques (e.g., citation analysis) to bibliometric data (e.g., publication and citation units) (Broadus, 1987; Pritchard, 1969). Researchers apply bibliometric analysis for various reasons, such as discovering emerging trends in the performance of articles and journals, collaboration patterns among authors and research components, and discovering the intellectual structure of a specific field in existing literature (Donthu et al., 2021).In this research, in the first step, the Scopus database was used due to the inclusion of more scientific documents than other databases (Echchakoui, 2020). Then, the relevant keywords were identified and selected, and by setting the query phrase, applying it to the Scopus database and performing the necessary filters, a total of 58 articles from the journals ranked in 2023 rankings by the Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) were obtained. This number decreased to 51 articles as the basis of analysis after reviewing the content by the authors and discarding unrelated articles. In this research, the VOSviewer software (Eck & Waltman, 2021) was chosen for bibliographic data analysis and visualization. Also, the matplotlib and wordcloud libraries in Python programming language were used for drawing wordcloud, and Microsoft Excel software was used for drawing trend charts.ResultsOur findings reveal that approximately half of the research output is concentrated in the four-year period from 2020 to 2023. The dominant subject areas in design science articles are audit and control, coupled with the integration of emerging technologies and data analytics techniques. The most cited work is Geerts (2011) paper, ‘A design science research methodology and its application to accounting information systems research’ with 140 citations in the Scopus database alone. The most prolific author, Miklos Vasarhelyi, has authored six articles and boasts the most scientific connections with other researchers in this field. The State University of New Jersey, USA, where Vasarhelyi works, stands as the most prolific institute with eight articles. Geerts (2011) receives 177 references from his two articles, earning him the title of the most cited author in the realm of design science in accounting research, while the University of Delaware, where he is affiliated, is also the most cited university. Among countries contributing to this field, the United States leads with the highest number of productive articles and references, totaling 33 articles and 555 references. The International Journal of Accounting Information Systems has published the most articles (20) and received the most references (464).DiscussionThe recently observed surge in publications indicates a growing interest among accounting researchers in this methodology. However, auditing literature hosts more DSR research (nearly half) than financial accounting and other branches. According to co-word analysis results, the design of auditing artifacts based on emerging technology is the predominant research trend, pursued by researchers to enhance audit quality and integrate emerging technologies into the auditing practice. These trends suggest an increasing emphasis on advanced audit and tech research in the future, with a focus on robotic process automation, analytics, and machine learning. In terms of actors at the levels of author, institution, and country, dominance lies with American contributors. Notably, journals that accept DSR papers are primarily technology-related, and mainstream accounting journals, such as The Accounting Review, have not yet embraced this research paradigm.ConclusionThis is the first attempt in accounting literature to conduct a bibliometric study on the research method known as DSR. Given the practical nature of accounting and the criticisms of low practical relevance of accounting research, scholars in the field have turned to DSR in recent years to undertake problem-solving inquiries through the design and evaluation of artifacts. Prospective researchers can benefit from examining seminal and highly cited papers and exploring current hot topics identified by this study to become acquainted with applying this research methodology and selecting trending topics for further inquiries.
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