Business and Society

Top Research Topics at Business & Society?

The main points discussed in the journal deals with Public relations, Corporate social responsibility, Marketing, Stakeholder and Accounting. The journal discusses concepts in Business ethics under Public relations and how they intertwine with disciplines like Context (language use). In addition to Corporate social responsibility research, it aims to explore topics under Social responsibility, Corporate governance and Politics.

Research on Politics addressed in it frequently intersections with the field of Political economy. The work tackled in it goes beyond the discipline of Marketing as it also encompasses Corporate social performance. Topics like Stakeholder theory, Stakeholder analysis and Stakeholder management are tackled as part of the discussions on Stakeholder.

• Public relations (25.41%)
• Corporate social responsibility (20.53%)
• Marketing (15.84%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

• Corporate Social Responsibility: Evolution of a Definitional Construct (4304 citations)
• The corporate social performance and corporate financial performance debate twenty-five years of incomparable research (1806 citations)
• Corporate Social Performance As a Competitive Advantage in Attracting a Quality Workforce (1302 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at Business & Society:

The most cited papers primarily tackle Public relations, Marketing, Corporate social responsibility, Stakeholder and Corporate social performance. The featured Public relations studies in the journal publications mainly concentrate on Corporate governance but also cover areas of interest in Public administration. The journal publications explore research in Social responsibility and overlapping concepts in Normative to expand the discourse in Corporate social responsibility.

What topics the last edition of the journal is best known for?

• Law
• Social science
• Capitalism

The previous edition focused in particular on these issues:

Business & Society mainly deals with areas of study such as Corporate social responsibility, Sustainability, Corporate governance, Public relations and Political economy. The studies on Corporate social responsibility discussed can also contribute to research in the domains of Supply chain, Marketing, Phenomenon and Stakeholder. It deals with Sustainability in conjunction with other fields like

• Cross sector that intertwine with fields like Business model and Economic system,
• Value (economics) most often made with reference to Environmental economics,
• Industrial organization together with Institutional theory..

The concepts on Corporate governance presented in Business & Society can also apply to other research fields, including Indigenous and Public administration. The studies in Public administration featured incorporate elements of Legitimacy and Grassroots. The research on Political economy featured in Business & Society combines topics in other fields like State (polity) and Capitalism, Politics.

The most cited articles from the last journal are:

• Cross-Scale Systemic Resilience:Implications for Organization Studies (20 citations)
• Board Characteristics and Corporate Social Responsibility: A Meta-Analytic Investigation: (17 citations)
• Stakeholder Identification and Salience After 20 Years: Progress, Problems, and Prospects (16 citations)

Papers citation over time

A key indicator for each journal is its effectiveness in reaching other researchers with the papers published at that venue.

The chart below presents the interquartile range (first quartile 25%, median 50% and third quartile 75%) of the number of citations of articles over time.

Top authors and change over time

The top authors publishing in Business & Society (based on the number of publications) are:

• Kathleen Rehbein (16 papers) published 4 papers at the last edition, 1 more than at the previous edition,
• Bryan W. Husted (15 papers) absent at the last edition,
• Andrew Crane (14 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition, 1 more than at the previous edition,
• Frank G. A. de Bakker (14 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition, 1 less than at the previous edition,
• Donna J. Wood (13 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition.

The overall trend for top authors publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top authors.

Top affiliations and change over time

Only papers with recognized affiliations are considered

The top affiliations publishing in Business & Society (based on the number of publications) are:

• University of Pittsburgh (21 papers) absent at the last edition,
• York University (20 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition the same number as at the previous edition,
• University of New Mexico (19 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition the same number as at the previous edition,
• University of Amsterdam (18 papers) published 3 papers at the last edition, 2 more than at the previous edition,
• George Washington University (16 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition.

The overall trend for top affiliations publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top affiliations.

Publication chance based on affiliation

The publication chance index shows the ratio of articles published by the best research institutions in the journal edition to all articles published within that journal. The best research institutions were selected based on the largest number of articles published during all editions of the journal.

The chart below presents the percentage ratio of articles from top institutions (based on their ranking of total papers).Top affiliations were grouped by their rank into the following tiers: top 1-10, top 11-20, top 21-50, and top 51+. Only articles with a recognized affiliation are considered.

During the most recent 2021 edition, 8.43% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 14.47% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 13.16% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 13.16% of all publications and 59.21% were from other institutions.

Returning Authors Index

A very common phenomenon observed among researchers publishing scientific articles is the intentional selection of journals they have already attended in the past. In particular, it is worth analyzing the case when the authors participate in the same journal from year to year.

The Returning Authors Index presented below illustrates the ratio of authors who participated in both a given as well as the previous edition of the journal in relation to all participants in a given year.

Returning Institution Index

The graph below shows the Returning Institution Index, illustrating the ratio of institutions that participated in both a given and the previous edition of the conference in relation to all affiliations present in a given year.

The experience to innovation index

Our experience to innovation index was created to show a cross-section of the experience level of authors publishing in a journal. The index includes the authors publishing at the last edition of a journal, grouped by total number of publications throughout their academic career (P) and the total number of citations of these publications ever received (C).

The group intervals were selected empirically to best show the diversity of the authors' experiences, their labels were selected as a convenience, not as judgment. The authors were divided into the following groups:

• Novice - P < 5 or C < 25 (the number of publications less than 5 or the number of citations less than 25),
• Competent - P < 10 or C < 100 (the number of publications less than 10 or the number of citations less than 100),
• Experienced - P < 25 or C < 625 (the number of publications less than 25 or the number of citations less than 625),
• Master - P < 50 or C < 2500 (the number of publications less than 50 or the number of citations less than 2500),
• Star - P ≥ 50 and C ≥ 2500 (both the number of publications greater than 50 and the number of citations greater than 2500).

The chart below illustrates experience levels of first authors in cases of publications with multiple authors.

Best Business Schools for Research in Virginia

Considering pursuing a degree and eager to apply these topics in a real-world business environment? Virginia has notable business schools that offer excellent research opportunities in these fields. These programs may offer specialized tracks in Public Relations, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Marketing among other areas. They often blend theory with hands-on experience, allowing students to explore these topics in-depth. Some of these programs also integrate courses related to the most cited papers mentioned above, such as Corporate Social Responsibility: Evolution of a Definitional Construct, and provide opportunities for students to engage in up-to-date discourse in these areas. Institutions like the University of Virginia, College of William & Mary, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University offer robust business programs. You can explore a comprehensive list of the best business schools in Virginia to find a program that suits your professional goals and research interests.