Has Concentration in the Top Six Accounting Journals Changed Over Time?

• In Event: Session B: Accounting History

Abstract

Prior work has found high levels of concentration in the top academic accounting journals, leading some to suggest that these journals are dominated by a small set of elite schools. However, little evidence exists on changes in journal concentration over time, and evidence that does exist does not extend into recent years. We examine concentration trends in the top six accounting journals (AOS, JAE, JAR, RAST, CAR, and TAR) from 1960 to 2011. Our results show (1) an overall trend towards increasing article publications, (2) an overall trend towards decreasing concentration, (3) some evidence of increasing specialization between journals (i.e., a top 20 school for one journal is becoming less likely to appear as a top 20 school for a different journal), and (4) an overall trend towards proportionally more non-US schools appearing in top journals. Our conclusions are similar whether we use authors’ affiliation school (where they worked at the time of publication) or degree school (where they obtained their PhD). Our results ultimately suggest that opportunities for publication in top journals have improved for academic accounting researchers.

Authors

• Derek K Oler, Texas Tech University

• Mitchell J Oler, Virginia Tech University

• Christopher J. Skousen, Utah State University

• Jayson Talakai, Texas Tech University