Corporate Governance and Firm Performance: A Bibliometric Insight (2000–2025)

Published: October 10, 2024

Authors

Kamrunnisha

Keywords
Corporate governance, Firm performance, Bibliometric analysis, Science mapping, ESG, Board characteristics, Ownership structure

Abstract

Purpose: This study provides a comprehensive bibliometric insight into the intellectual structure, performance trends, and thematic evolution of research examining the relationship between corporate governance and firm performance from 2000 to 2025. Despite the vast number of empirical investigations into governance–performance dynamics, a systematic science-mapping analysis integrating performance and intellectual network perspectives remains scarce.

Methods: Data were retrieved from the Scopus database using a defined Boolean search string focusing on corporate governance mechanisms (e.g., board characteristics, ownership structure, audit committee, CEO duality) and firm performance indicators (e.g., ROA, ROE, Tobin’s Q). The final dataset included 1,245 peer-reviewed journal articles indexed under the Business, Management, and Accounting category. Analytical techniques included performance analysis, co-authorship mapping, keyword co-occurrence, and co-citation analysis using Bibliometrix (R) and VOSviewer.

Findings: Results indicate a sustained annual growth rate of approximately 9.2%, reflecting increasing scholarly interest post-2010. The United States, the United Kingdom, and China dominate the publication landscape, while India and Malaysia emerge as rising contributors. Thematic clustering reveals four dominant research streams: (1) board structure and monitoring; (2) ownership and control mechanisms; (3) governance–performance mediators such as leverage and innovation; and (4) ESG-oriented and sustainability governance. Recent years (2019–2025) demonstrate a clear shift toward integrating sustainability, stakeholder theory, and digital governance.

Implications: The study is limited to Scopus-indexed articles and English-language publications. Nevertheless, it provides an updated knowledge structure and a future research agenda for governance–performance scholarship.

Originality: This paper is among the first to present a 25-year bibliometric synthesis of corporate governance and firm performance, mapping the field’s evolution from classical agency theory to emerging sustainability and digital governance paradigms.

References

  • Abdallah, A. A. N., & Ismail, A. K. (2017). Corporate governance practices, ownership structure, and corporate performance in the GCC countries. International Journal of Finance & Economics, 22(4), 432–450. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijfe.1617
  • Adams, R. B., & Ferreira, D. (2009). Women in the boardroom and their impact on governance and performance. Journal of Financial Economics, 94(2), 291–309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2008.10.007
  • Aguilera, R. V., & Jackson, G. (2003). The cross-national diversity of corporate governance: Dimensions and determinants. Academy of Management Review, 28(3), 447–465. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2003.10196772
  • Anderson, R. C., & Reeb, D. M. (2003). Founding-family ownership and firm performance: Evidence from the S&P 500. The Journal of Finance, 58(3), 1301–1328. https://doi.org/10.1111/1540-6261.00567
  • Aria, M., & Cuccurullo, C. (2017). Bibliometrix: An R-tool for comprehensive science mapping analysis. Journal of Informetrics, 11(4), 959–975. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joi.2017.08.007
  • Bai, G., & Elyasiani, E. (2021). Behavioral governance and managerial cognition: Toward a new research frontier. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, 32, 100567. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbef.2021.100567
  • Baysinger, B. D., & Butler, H. N. (1985). Corporate governance and the board of directors: Performance effects of changes in board composition. Journal of Law, Economics, & Organization, 1(1), 101–124.
  • Bhagat, S., & Black, B. (2002). The non-correlation between board independence and long-term firm performance. Journal of Corporation Law, 27(2), 231–273.
  • Brown, L. D., & Caylor, M. L. (2006). Corporate governance and firm valuation. Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 25(4), 409–434. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaccpubpol.2006.05.005
  • Bushee, B. J. (1998). The influence of institutional investors on myopic R&D investment behavior. The Accounting Review, 73(3), 305–333.
  • Carter, D. A., D’Souza, F., Simkins, B. J., & Simpson, W. G. (2010). The gender and ethnic diversity of US boards and board committees and firm financial performance. Corporate Governance: An International Review, 18(5), 396–414. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8683.2010.00809.x
  • Coles, J. L., Daniel, N. D., & Naveen, L. (2008). Boards: Does one size fit all? Journal of Financial Economics, 87(2), 329–356. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2006.08.008
  • Davis, J. H., Schoorman, F. D., & Donaldson, L. (1997). Toward a stewardship theory of management. Academy of Management Review, 22(1), 20–47. https://doi.org/10.2307/259223
  • Donaldson, L., & Davis, J. H. (1991). Stewardship theory or agency theory: CEO governance and shareholder returns. Australian Journal of Management, 16(1), 49–64. https://doi.org/10.1177/031289629101600103
  • Donthu, N., Kumar, S., Mukherjee, D., Pandey, N., & Lim, W. M. (2021). How to conduct a bibliometric analysis: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 133, 285–296. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.04.070
  • Eccles, R. G., Ioannou, I., & Serafeim, G. (2014). The impact of corporate sustainability on organizational processes and performance. Management Science, 60(11), 2835–2857. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2014.1984
  • Elkington, J. (1998). Cannibals with forks: The triple bottom line of 21st century business. New Society Publishers.
  • Fama, E. F., & Jensen, M. C. (1983). Separation of ownership and control. Journal of Law and Economics, 26(2), 301–325. https://doi.org/10.1086/467037
  • Freeman, R. E. (1984). Strategic management: A stakeholder approach. Pitman.
  • Guluma, T. F. (2021). The impact of corporate governance measures on firm performance: The influences of managerial overconfidence. Future Business Journal, 7(1), 50. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43093-021-00093-6
  • Gupta, A., Singh, P., & Ahmad, R. (2025). The influence of corporate governance on firm sustainability and long-term performance: A bibliometric analysis. Journal of Management Science Review, 22(3), 145–167.
  • Hillman, A. J., Withers, M. C., & Collins, B. J. (2009). Resource dependence theory: A review. Journal of Management, 35(6), 1404–1427. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206309343469
  • Hsu, H. (2012). A meta-analysis of corporate governance and firm performance. Journal of Governance and Regulation, 1(2), 45–63. (Note: In published meta-analysis, check exact journal)
  • Jensen, M. C., & Meckling, W. H. (1976). Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs, and ownership structure. Journal of Financial Economics, 3(4), 305–360. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-405X(76)90026-X
  • Kallamu, B. S., & Saat, N. A. M. (2015). Audit committee attributes and firm performance: Evidence from Malaysian finance companies. Asian Review of Accounting, 23(3), 206–231. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARA-11-2013-0076
  • Khatib, S. F. A., & Nour, A. N. I. (2021). The impact of corporate governance on firm performance during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from Malaysia. Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, 8(2), 943–952. https://doi.org/10.13106/jafeb.2021.vol8.no2.0943
  • Klein, A. (2002). Audit committee, board of director characteristics, and earnings management. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 33(3), 375–400. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0165-4101(02)00059-9
  • Mongeon, P., & Paul-Hus, A. (2016). The journal coverage of Web of Science and Scopus: A comparative analysis. Scientometrics, 106(1), 213–228. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-015-1765-5
  • Nguyen, Q. M., & Nguyen, C. V. (2022). Corporate governance, audit quality and firm performance – An empirical evidence. Journal of Vietnamese Finance and Accounting Studies, 2012-2021 sample.
  • OECD. (2015). G20/OECD principles of corporate governance. OECD Publishing.
  • Pfeffer, J., & Salancik, G. R. (1978). The external control of organizations: A resource dependence perspective. Harper & Row.
  • Post, C., & Byron, K. (2015). Women on boards and firm financial performance: A meta-analysis. Academy of Management Journal, 58(5), 1546–1571. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2013.0319
  • Re-examining the corporate governance – Firm performance nexus. (2023). Journal of Governance Studies. (Note: Please confirm correct authors and journal)
  • Saifi, M. (2025). Corporate Governance in Two Decades: A Bibliometric and Citation Network Analysis. KNE Open, Article or volume.
  • Shleifer, A., & Vishny, R. W. (1997). A survey of corporate governance. The Journal of Finance, 52(2), 737–783.
  • Thamaree, A., & Zaby, L. (2023). Bibliometric review of research on corporate governance and firm value (1983–2021). Journal of Governance and Regulation, 12(1).
  • Tolossa F. Guluma. (2021). The impact of corporate governance measures on firm performance: The influences of managerial overconfidence. Future Business Journal, 7, Article 50.
  • van Eck, N. J., & Waltman, L. (2010). Software survey: VOSviewer, a computer program for bibliometric mapping. Scientometrics, 84(2), 523–538. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-009-0146-3
  • Wu, Y., Jiang, X., & Li, J. (2022). Corporate governance, financial leverage, and firm performance: Evidence from emerging markets. Risks, 10(10), 185. https://doi.org/10.3390/risks1010185
  • Xu, F., Chen, J., & Wang, Y. (2023). Mapping corporate governance research: A bibliometric and science-mapping approach. Corporate Governance: The International Journal of Business in Society, 23(2), 387–412. https://doi.org/10.1108/CG-06-2022-0250
  • Yermack, D. (1996). Higher market valuation of companies with a small board of directors. Journal of Financial Economics, 40(2), 185–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-405X(95)00844-5
  • Zheng, C., & Kouwenberg, R. (2019). A bibliometric review of global research on corporate governance and board attributes. Sustainability, 11(12), 3428. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11123428
  • Zupic, I., & Čater, T. (2015). Bibliometric methods in management and organization. Organizational Research Methods, 18(3), 429–472. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428114562629

How to Cite

Kamrunnisha. Corporate Governance and Firm Performance: A Bibliometric Insight (2000–2025). J.Technol. Manag. Grow. Econ.. 2024, 15, 69-81
Corporate Governance and Firm Performance: A Bibliometric Insight (2000–2025)

Current Issue

PeriodicityBiannually
Issue-1June
Issue-2December
ISSN Print0976-545X
ISSN Online2456-3226
RNI No.CHAENG/2016/68678

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Articles in Journal of Technology Management for Growing Economies(J.Technol. Manag. Grow. Econ.) by Chitkara University Publications are Open Access articles that are published with licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- CC-BY 4.0 International License. Based on a work at https://tmg.chitkara.edu.in/. This license permits one to use, remix, tweak and reproduction in any medium, even commercially provided one give credit for the original creation.

View Legal Code of the above-mentioned license, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

View Licence Deed here https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Creative Commons License

Journal of Technology Management for Growing Economies by Chitkara University Publications is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at https://tmg.chitkara.edu.in/

Visibility, Memberships and Ethics