On the state of financial research: Is it in a silo?

Abstract

This study on the state of financial research analysed the citations made in leading business and economics journals in the period 1997–2020. It found that, contrary to other business fields, and despite citing more references, finance researchers overlooked the fruitful mode of knowledge creation by integrating advances from disciplines other than economics. Additionally, citations in economics became disproportionate to older papers. Furthermore, intradisciplinary citations remained predominantly in the same four journals, although others became prominent. These findings on the state of financial research supplement other issues inhibiting finance knowledge progression and have inferences regarding the training of future scholars.