Review article
A REVIEW OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF STEWARDSHIP THEORY USING THE METHODS OF BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS
Nikolina Posarić
orcid.org/0000-0003-2834-2929
; Faculty of Organization and Informatics, University of Zagreb, Varaždin, Croatia
Lorena Pikl
orcid.org/0009-0000-6863-1122
; Faculty of Organization and Informatics, University of Zagreb, Varaždin, Croatia
Abstract
Stewardship theory is one of the management theories often mentioned in the literature as the opposite of agency theory, one of the most famous theories in management and corporate governance. Both theories seek to explain the relationship between owners and managers in large companies, although the basic assumptions of managerial stewardship behavior are
mainly present in small and family businesses.
This paper aims to investigate the development of stewardship theory by finding and analyzing papers within the field of social sciences using bibliometric methods of citation and co-citation analysis. From the initial sample of 1354 papers, the basis for further analysis was 637 papers. The results show the most researched concepts, key journals, authors, papers, and countries in the field of stewardship theory. This paper is the first to present a comprehensive bibliometric review of the literature on stewardship theory, and it is the first attempt to map the ordered conceptual structure of stewardship theory development using bibliometric visualization techniques.
The main contribution of this paper is the results of studying the literature in a structured, comprehensive, and objective way. The results of the paper offer researchers and scientists guidelines for researching further areas in the field of social sciences and allow for building a network with authors worldwide who have significantly contributed to the development of stewardship theory. In this way, the basic assumptions of stewardship theory can be promoted and popularized, and managers can be encouraged to practice stewardship behavior and create a culture of stewardship in organizations.
Keywords
stewardship theory, stewardship, bibliometric analysis, citation analysis, cocitation analysis
Hrčak ID:
314732
URI
Publication date:
15.3.2024.
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