{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,2]],"date-time":"2026-03-02T16:05:30Z","timestamp":1772467530254,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"Emerald","issue":"2","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,2]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Purpose<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study aims to take stock of the academic research done so far, on politicians\u2019 use of public sector financial and nonfinancial information. The analysis covers the period from 2005 to 2022, seeking to characterize the current state of the art and identify gaps for future exploration.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Design\/methodology\/approach<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A bibliometric analysis, supported by a structured literature review, was carried out on 116 papers, published in journals indexed in the Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus databases, which examine the use of public sector financial and nonfinancial information by politicians. The extracted data were analysed using Microsoft Excel, and quantitative content analysis methods were employed while reviewing the literature.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Findings<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The study shows that research on politicians\u2019 use of financial and non-financial information has grown significantly since 2015, mainly due to special journal issues. Most papers were published in high-ranking journals, with a strong presence in Public Money and Management and the Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting and Financial Management. While earlier studies focused more on nonfinancial (performance) information, recent years have shown increasing attention to financial information. Research is concentrated mainly in Europe and primarily focuses on local governments, with few cross-country or central government studies. Most contributions are empirical, using qualitative methods like content analysis and interviews. Quantitative methods are less diverse and mainly limited to regression analysis. Citation patterns show that older studies on performance information remain the most influential.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Research limitations\/implications<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The limited number (116) of published studies confirms that this is still a developing field, offering substantial opportunities for future research. There is a clear need for more comparative and international studies, particularly beyond Europe as well as a greater focus on central governments, which remain underexplored. Future research should move beyond descriptive approaches, developing stronger theoretical frameworks to understand how and why politicians use financial and non-financial information. Methodologically, the field would benefit from the use of more advanced quantitative techniques and the broader use of secondary data. Additionally, the growing role of digital tools in public sector reporting opens new avenues for investigating how digitalization influences political decision-making and accountability. These directions can help strengthen both academic knowledge and practical impact in public governance.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Practical implications<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study offers an original contribution to the literature by presenting the first bibliometric and structured literature review focused on the use of financial and non-financial information by politicians in the public sector. Its innovative methodological approach combines bibliometric indicators with qualitative content analysis, providing a replicable framework for future research. By analysing 116 peer-reviewed papers published between 2005 and 2022, the study offers a comprehensive overview of the field\u2019s evolution, identifies influential authors and journals and highlights key research gaps. This integrated mapping not only advances academic understanding but also supports the development of a future research agenda in a still-emerging area of study.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Originality\/value<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Contributes to the literature by offering a systematic and replicable methodology, combining bibliometric indicators with qualitative content analysis. It not only maps the evolution of the field but also identifies key contributors and influential publications, thus providing a roadmap for emerging researchers.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1108\/jaar-10-2024-0392","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,5]],"date-time":"2025-09-05T17:55:08Z","timestamp":1757094908000},"page":"321-343","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["The use of public sector financial and nonfinancial information by politicians: a bibliometric analysis"],"prefix":"10.1108","volume":"27","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8675-6102","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"S\u00f3nia P.","family":"Nogueira","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Applied Management Research Unit, Instituto Polit\u00e9cnico de Bragan\u00e7a , ,","place":["Bragan\u00e7a, Portugal"]}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4850-2387","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Susana","family":"Jorge","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal"},{"name":"Centre for Business and Economics Research, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3166-8789","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Adriana","family":"Silva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Polytechnic University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal"},{"name":"Centre for Business and Economics Research, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8599-3325","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Gioacchino","family":"Benfante","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Parma , ,","place":["Parma, Italy"]}]}],"member":"140","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,5]]},"reference":[{"issue":"4","key":"2026030210152703400_ref001","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"746","DOI":"10.1016\/j.joi.2015.07.003","article-title":"The relationship between the number of authors of a publication, its citations and the impact factor of the publishing journal: evidence from Italy","volume":"9","author":"Abramo","year":"2015","journal-title":"Journal of Informetrics"},{"issue":"2","key":"2026030210152703400_ref002","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"152","DOI":"10.1111\/faam.12301","article-title":"Digitalization, accounting and accountability: a literature review and reflections on future research in public services","volume":"38","author":"Agostino","year":"2022","journal-title":"Financial Accountability and Management"},{"issue":"1","key":"2026030210152703400_ref003","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/2158244019829575","article-title":"Citations, citation indicators, and research quality: an overview of basic concepts and theories","volume":"9","author":"Aksnes","year":"2019","journal-title":"Sage Open"},{"issue":"3","key":"2026030210152703400_ref004","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"403","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1540-6210.2009.01988.x","article-title":"Budget transparency, fiscal performance, and political turnout: an international approach","volume":"69","author":"Benito","year":"2009","journal-title":"Public Administration Review"},{"key":"2026030210152703400_ref005","article-title":"Democratising accounting and accountability practices: what type of publicness for accounting","author":"Brown","year":"2022"},{"issue":"4","key":"2026030210152703400_ref006","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"453","DOI":"10.1080\/10967494.2015.1064502","article-title":"Talking numbers? 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