A Bibliometric Analysis on Board Diversity: Current Status, Development, and Future Directions

Abstract

This study identifies the main areas and current dynamics of the field of board diversity and suggests future research directions. Using a bibliometric analysis, we examine a sample of 579 studies from the ISI Web of Science database to identify research activity on board diversity between 1999 and early 2019. We find the most influential articles and authors based on their citations and publications as well as their location and importance within the network. We also examine current themes, find impediments to growth in the literature, and suggest avenues for future research. Although research activity on board diversity occurs globally, a lack of collaboration exists across country lines, especially between authors of developed and developing countries. Research on board diversity focuses on gender diversity, with relatively less attention on age, nationality, ethnicity, professional background, and cognition. We conclude by suggesting five potential research directions.

Keywords: Board diversity, bibliometric analysis, citation network, Web of science, gender, systematic literature review