Advances in Accounting Information Systems

International Journal of Accounting Information Systems 5 (2004) 341 – 365

Advances in Accounting Information Systems and International Journal of Accounting Information Systems : first ten volumes (1992–2003)
Paul D. Hutchisona,*, Craig G. Whiteb, Ronald J. Daiglec
Department of Accounting, University Of North Texas, Denton, TX 76203-5219, United States Area of Accounting, University Of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-1221, United States c Department of Accounting, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803-6304, United States
b a

Received 14 February 2004; received in revised form 10 June 2004; accepted 24 June 2004

Abstract This study of the first 10 volumes of Advances in Accounting Information Systems (AiAIS ) and the International Journal of Accounting Information Systems (IJAIS ) uses content, participation, citation, and article download analyses to assess the journal’s success of meeting its purpose, intended audience, scope, and reach. Results suggest that its redirected focus in 2000 to expand its international audience, removal of section designations for articles, implementation of a quarterly publication approach, and inclusion in an electronic, searchable database (ScienceDirect) have well positioned the journal for the future and to assist in disseminating quality AIS research. This study’s analyses of articles published in the journal specifically indicate an increase in publications in recent years, numerous identified AIS topic/research method opportunities for future research, a variety of AIS topics examined, various research methods employed, and participation by all faculty ranks. Further, the author’s school of publication and university of degree show a variety of large, public institutions participating in the journal. Outside citations by articles in other journals to AiAIS/IJAIS articles indicate an increase in dissemination of knowledge in recent years, while article downloads show an exponential growth pattern. The study concludes that IJAIS has come into its own and is

* Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (P.D. Hutchison)8 [email protected] (C.G. White)8 [email protected] (R.J. Daigle). 1467-0895/$ - see front matter D 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.accinf.2004.06.002

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recognized by academics and professionals as a quality accounting publication that contributes to the literature. D 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Retrospective; Journal development; Journal assessment; Content analyses; Participation analyses; Citation analyses

1. Introduction This study analyzes the first 10 volumes (1992 through 2003) of Advances in Accounting Information Systems (AiAIS ) and its successor journal, International Journal of Accounting Information Systems (IJAIS ) (collectively termed bthe journalQ) using content, participation, citation, and article download analyses.1 Additionally, this research reviews the journal’s purpose and intended audience to provide editorial leadership with knowledge that could potentially guide future journal direction to enhance reputation. Journal assessment is not new, and over the years, articles have been directed at reviewing and assessing various accounting journals (e.g., The Journal of the American Taxation Association : Hutchison and White, 2003; Journal of Information Systems : Samuels and Steinbart, 2002; Management Accounting Research : Scapens and Bromwich, 2001; Behavioral Research in Accounting : Meyer and Rigsby, 2001; Journal of Accounting and Economics : Watts, 1998; Contemporary Accounting Research : Carnaghan et al., 1994; The Accounting Review : Heck and Bremser, 1986; and Journal of Accounting Research : Dyckman and Zeff, 1984). Although each of these reviews assessed different elements of a specific journal, their underlying purpose was to examine the journal’s past to provide future direction. AiAIS /IJAIS witnessed rapid changes in technology and communication, and tremendous growth in interest by business for accounting information systems (AIS) during the period this study examines. This growth and interest in AiAIS/IJAIS is evidenced by increases in submissions, published articles, citations to articles in the journal, electronic downloads of articles, and diversity in the authorship of research. An examination of publication trends in the journal can also give insight as to the future direction of AIS research, which can benefit academicians in selecting and performing AIS research. Some of the clearest trends in the journal are diversification of AIS research topics; acceptance of various research methods; timely publications; contemporary topics; international focus of AIS; lack of dominance by any particular author, interest group, or university; and dissemination of knowledge to the literature evidenced by citations and electronic downloads. The remainder of this article is organized as follows. First, a brief background of the journal is presented. This is followed by a discussion of the methodology and data sources used in the analyses. Measures addressing content, participation, citations, and electronic downloads are then examined. Finally, conclusions and limitations are provided.
1

Only 10 volumes of the journal were published during the 12 years examined in this study.

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2. Background AiAIS was established in 1992 under the editorial leadership of Steve G. Sutton to provide an additional outlet for the publication of AIS research.2 The journal was a research annual published in book form. In its initial edition, the editor clearly identified the purpose, intended audience, and scope of the journal: Advances in Accounting Information Systems (AiAIS ) is a professional publication whose purpose is to meet the information needs of both practitioners and academicians. We plan to publish thoughtful, well-developed articles that examine the rapidly evolving relationship between accounting and information technology. Articles may range from empirical to analytical, from practice-based to the development of new techniques. Articles must be readable and logically integrated. To be reliable, conclusions must follow logically from the evidence and arguments presented. For empirical reports, sound design and execution are critical. For theoretical treatises, reasonable assumptions and logical development are essential. Relevant articles must be related to problems facing the integration of accounting and information technology. Specific issues that the journal will address include, but are not limited to, the following: ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Control and auditability of information systems. Management of information technology. Artificial intelligence research in accounting. Development issues in accounting and information systems. Human factors issues related to information technology. Development of theories related to information technology. Methodological issues in information technology research. Information systems validation. Human–computer interaction research in accounting information systems.

AiAIS welcomes all comments and encourages articles from practitioners and academicians (Sutton, 1992). The format of AiAIS consisted of editorials and articles categorized into the following three sections: Information Systems Practice and Theory, Information Systems and the Accounting/Auditing Environment, and Perspectives on Information Systems Research. Editions of AiAIS were published in 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998 (six volumes).3
It later became associated with the annual Accounting Information Systems Research Symposium held in Scottsdale, AZ. Subsequently, IJAIS also became a sponsor of the International Research Symposium on Accounting Information Systems (IRSAIS) held in conjunction with the International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS) and the European Conference on Accounting Information Systems (ECAIS) held in conjunction with the Annual Congress of the European Accounting Association (EAA). 3 According to Sutton, AiAIS initially utilized a 15-month publication cycle that was dictated by the flow of quality manuscripts. This cycle resulted in 1994 being the year that was missed and no volume produced (Sutton, 2003). Further, 1999 was a journal transition year in which no volume was produced.
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AiAIS rose quite quickly in reputation and became recognized as a premier publication outlet for a broad range of AIS research (Daigle and Arnold, 2000; Baldwin et al., 2000). Under the continued editorship of Sutton, AiAIS evolved into the International Journal of Accounting Information Systems . The journal was repositioned and its purpose and intended audience updated. Reflecting on this change, Sutton (2003) notes that b(t)he message that we were beginning to get back in the late 90s was that the annual book form of publication was hurting authors when they went up for promotion and tenure review completed by non-AIS and non-accounting academics.Q The journal moved from an annual to a quarterly format of publication starting with March 2000 and additionally eliminated the section categories of the old journal. Sutton (2003) further states that due to ban oddity in the publication world we couldn’t begin with Volume 7 and had to revert back to Volume 1 again.Q Continuing to serve the same intended audience of practitioners and academics, the purpose of the journal changed only slightly, according to Sutton. IJAIS still strives for quality and diversity in both AIS research perspectives and methodologies, but is now committed to be more international in scope and to better serve the global AIS research community (Sutton, 2003).

3. Methodology and data collection This study focuses on an examination of the six volumes of AiAIS (1992–1998) and the first four volumes (15 editions) of IJAIS (2000–2003). The primary research methodology utilized in this study is a direct count and reporting of selected items of interest. Three separate databases were created for use in the analyses of this study. The first database (AiAIS/IJAIS ) developed contains data from each published journal article. To enhance further analyses by author, record entries in the AiAIS /IJAIS database were created for each author of co-authored works. Each record in the database contains 17 distinct fields. The fields for each record include: name of journal; title of article; volume; number; month; year; page numbers; section of journal; first and last names; solo or co-authorship; rank, department, and school at publication; university of highest degree; degree; and year of degree.4 For the years 1992 through 2003, a total of 126 articles were published in AiAIS / IJAIS . Due to co-authorship, these articles generated 234 separate records in the AiAIS/ IJAIS database. A second database (within citations) was created to identify AiAIS/IJAIS citations in AiAIS /IJAIS articles from 1992 through 2003. Citations were recorded from reference or bibliographic listings and not footnotes or endnotes.5 The authors conducted manual searches to identify all citations. Each record in this database denotes a citation and

4 Department, rank, university of highest degree, degree, and year of degree data were obtained from the Accounting Faculty Directory compiled by J. R. Hasselback (1992–2004). 5 The rationale for using bibliographic reference citations is twofold. First, using footnote/endnote citations may bias the quantity of overall citations. Second, authors in their bibliography may include all works used to develop an article, not just the ones cited in the article.

P.D. Hutchison et al. / Int. J. Account. Inf. Syst. 5 (2004) 341–365 Table 1 AiAIS and IJAIS publications by categorya Category 1992–1998 AiAIS Main Article Discussant’s Comment Editorial Symposium Introduction Totals 50 12 3 0 65 2000–2003 IJAIS 49 8 2 2 61

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Totals

99 20 5 2 126

a AiAIS was published annually from 1992 to 1998. There were no volumes published in 1994 or 1999. IJAIS was published quarterly from 2000 to 2003. Data based on 234 record entries by author in the AiAIS /IJAIS database. Categories are listed by the largest total quantity of publications descending.

contains eight separate fields that identify the AiAIS /IJAIS article that contains the citation with a cross-reference to the cited AiAIS /IJAIS article. The eight fields in this database include: name of journal, volume, number, month, year, page number, AiAIS/IJAIS article reference number, and first author of cited work. The third and final database (outside citations) developed for this study contains AiAIS/ IJAIS citations in articles published in 21 select accounting-related journals for the period 1992 through 2003.6 The authors selected an amalgam of academic and professional journals based primarily on previous ranking studies (Doney and Eaton, 2003; Baldwin et al., 2000) and availability to perform manual or electronic searches. Ultimately, the authors perused 988 editions in the identified journals for citations. Similar to the within-citations database, records in this database are from reference or bibliographic listings and not footnotes or endnotes. Separate fields used in this database include: name of journal, volume, number, month, year, page number, AiAIS/IJAIS article reference number, and first author of cited work.

4. Content analyses This section focuses on the content of AiAIS/IJAIS from various perspectives and comments on trends identified. Areas examined include structure of the journal; AIS research topics and methods and their related trends; authors per article; and faculty rank, school at publication, and university of degree of AiAIS/IJAIS authors.

The journals utilized in this study were: Abacus ; Accounting Forum ; Accounting Horizons ; Accounting, Auditing, & Taxation ; Accounting, Management, and Information Technologies ; Accounting, Organizations and Society ; Advances in Accounting Behavioral Research ; Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory ; Behavioral Research in Accounting ; Communications of the ACM ; Contemporary Accounting Research ; Decision Sciences ; Information Systems Research ; International Journal of Intelligent Systems in Accounting, Finance, and Management ; Journal of Accounting Research ; Journal of Information Systems ; Journal of Management Information Systems ; Management Science ; MIS Quarterly ; Review of Business (formerly Accounting ) Information Systems ; and The Accounting Review.

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Fig. 1. AiAIS and IJAIS Main Articles. AiAIS was published annually from 1992 to 1998. There were no volumes published in 1994 or 1999. IJAIS was published quarterly from 2000 to 2003. From the AiAIS /IJAIS database, there were 99 Main Articles from 1992 through 2003. Discussant’s Comments, Editorials, and Symposium Introductions are not included.

4.1. Structure of journal As previously noted, AiAIS utilized three sections for articles published in its six volumes, while IJAIS does not classify articles by sections. Therefore, for comparative purposes, the authors in their analyses have disregarded the section titles identified in AiAIS and term them simply bMain Articles.Q With this in mind, the general makeup of the journal is presented in Table 1. Although the length of time periods are different (6 vs. 4 years), the number of Main Articles published in both AiAIS and IJAIS are almost equal at 50 and 49. Further, Discussant’s Comments (12 vs. 8) and Editorials (3 vs. 2) are roughly similar for the two journals as well. This should enhance the analyses and discussion of trends presented in this study.7 Shown in Fig. 1, an initial review of the 99 Main Articles in the journal clearly illustrates an increase in IJAIS articles since the journal’s reintroduction in 2000. The number of articles published in IJAIS in 2003 (15) exceeds the highest number published in AiAIS in any year of its publication (12 in 1996). This is likely the result of the format change (quarterly vs. annual publications). 4.2. AIS research topics and methods Another approach to assessing the journal is by reviewing research topics and methods in articles published for diversity. The topic areas of articles also provide insights as to the evolution of research areas of the journal over the past 10 volumes, while an examination
Admittedly, the average number of IJAIS publications per year is higher than that of the AiAIS period due to fewer years of publication.
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of research methods present the utilization of various methods by the authors. Further, these reviews will identify AIS research topics and methods that are under-represented in the journal for perspective researchers. The authors of this study categorize all the main AiAIS/IJAIS articles (99 in total) along two dimensions, AIS research topic and research method, using definitions developed by Samuels and Steinbart (2002, pp. 100–101, 105) in their retrospective examination of the Journal of Information Systems (see Table 2).8 An additional benefit of using this approach is that readers can compare the results from this study to those of JIS presented by Samuels and Steinbart and draw their own comparisons and interpretations.
Table 2 Research topics and methods Research topics: 1. Organization and Management of an IS: Issues related to the various stages of the systems development life cycle. Examples include top management involvement in planning, the use of chargeback systems, and evaluating system effectiveness. 2. Internal Control and Auditing: Issues related to the design and evaluation of internal controls in information systems, or to the use of various types of audit tools and techniques to provide assurance about information systems. 3. Judgment and Decision Making: Issues concerning the use of systems and the effects of such use on individual or group decision making. 4. Databases: Issues concerning the design and use of databases. 5. Expert Systems, Artificial Intelligence, and Decision Aids: Articles that focus on the design of expert systems or other artificial intelligence techniques. 6. General AIS Frameworks: Articles that develop frameworks to address broad AIS issues, such as the development of a research paradigm. 7. The Accounting and Consulting Profession: Articles that examine career-related issues in accounting and consulting. 8. Educational Issues: Articles that address curriculum design issues, describe instructional materials, or present syllabi for specific courses. Research methods: 1. Survey: Articles that gather data by use of questionnaires. 2. Experiment: Articles that use lab or field experiments to manipulate independent variables under controlled conditions. 3. Modeling: Articles that develop data models, economic models, or use analytical techniques to investigate a topic. 4. Archival: Articles that analyze historical empirical data, usually provided by third-party sources. 5. Case Study: Articles that examine, in depth, one or a few specific organizations in order to investigate hypothesized relationships or to generate propositions that can be investigated in future research. 6. Literature Review: Articles that primarily review prior research to propose general frameworks or specific topics for future research. 7. Descriptive: Articles that describe existing practice. These differ from case studies in that articles in this category do not focus in-depth on the experiences of one or a few specific organizations. 8. Prescriptive: Articles that develop logical arguments to support proposals for a new or improved way to address some issue.

The authors expanded their definition of Educational Issues for this study to include student and facultyrelated issues.

8

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Eight research topics and eight research methods are used in the study. Two of the authors independently categorized each of the 99 Main Articles by research topic and method. Although some articles contained multiple topics or methods, the authors tried to identify the predominant ones evidenced in each article. The authors reached complete agreement on categorization after four passes. The aggregate results of the categorization process for all years of publication are shown in Table 3. Two topic categories dominate AiAIS/IJAIS over its 10-volume existence: Organization and Management of an Information System (IS) (27%), and Judgment and Decision Making Research (25%), while no studies predominantly focus on The Accounting and Consulting Profession (0%). Experiment (27%), Modeling (20%), and Prescriptive (18%) methods are the dominant research approaches used. The largest combination of topic area and method is in the area of Judgment and Decision Making using an Experiment Approach (19%). This combination is more than double the next largest, General AIS Frameworks using a Prescriptive method (9%). Table 3 also highlights numerous opportunities for innovative research studies. A wide variety of research topic/method combinations have not yet been or fully addressed in AiAIS/IJAIS . Of the 64 AIS topic/method combinations, 45 (70%) have zero or one published article. Since IJAIS is receptive to all AIS topic areas and research methods utilized, this presents substantial opportunities for researchers to expound upon and receive recognition for publication in a quality journal. 4.3. AIS research topic trends Table 4 provides other insights by comparing AIS research topic coverage in AiAIS to IJAIS . This table highlights AIS topic differences and similarities for approximately the same quantity of articles (50 vs. 49 Main Articles) although over two different journal time periods (1992–1998 vs. 2000–2003). Significant percentage variances are noted in a number of AIS topic categories from AiAIS to IJAIS : Organization and Management of an Information System (+15%); Internal Control and Auditing (+10%); Expert Systems, Artificial Intelligence, and Decision Aids (À16%); and General AIS Frameworks (À10%). Judgment and Decision Making (À6%) saw only a modest decrease, while The Accounting and Consulting Profession and Educational Issues remained constant with little or no relative change in topic distribution. Fig. 2 visually shows the comparison of topic area coverage in AiAIS to IJAIS . On a percentage basis, research represented has shifted out of the Judgment and Decision Making (À6%); Expert Systems, Artificial Intelligence, and Decision Aids (À16%); and General AIS Framework (À10%) categories and into Organization and Management of an Information System (+15%); Internal Control and Auditing (+10%); and Databases (+6%) between AiAIS and IJAIS .9 Shifts between the two periods of the journal’s existence may be due to: repositioning of the journal by its editorial board to a broader global audience, elimination of the structured format (no appearance of limitation on AIS topics by

9

Rounding causes the net total percentage changes to not equal 0.

Table 3 AiAIS and IJAIS Main Articles research methods used to examine AIS research topics 1992–2003a Research topic Research method Survey Organization and Management of an IS Internal Control and Auditing Judgment and Decision Making Databases Expert Systems, AI and Decision Aids General AIS Frameworks The Accounting and Consulting Profession Educational Issues Totals 6 Experiment 0 Modeling 7 Archival 6 Case Study 3 Literature Review 1 Descriptive 2 Prescriptive 2 27 27% Totals

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1 0 0 0 0 0

2 19 3 1 0 0

3 4 1 5 0 0

0 1 0 1 1 0

0 1 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 1 2 0

0 0 0 1 3 0

3 0 1 1 9 0

9 25 5 10 15 0

9% 25% 5% 10% 15% 0%

1 8 8%

2 27 27%

0 20 20%

2 11 11%

0 4 4%

0 4 4%

1 7 7%

2 18 18%

8 99 100%

8% 100%

a Table adapted from Samuels and Steinbart (2002, p. 106). From the AiAIS /IJAIS database, there were 99 Main Articles from 1992 through 2003. Note: Some percentages do not sum to 100% due to rounding.

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Table 4 AiAIS and IJAIS Main Articles by research topica Research topic Organization and Management of an IS Internal Control and Auditing Judgment and Decision Making Databases Expert Systems, AI and Decision Aids General AIS Frameworks The Accounting and Consulting Profession Educational Issues Totals 1992–1998 AiAIS 10 2 14 1 9 10 0 4 50 % 20 4 28 2 18 20 0 8 100 2000–2003 IJAIS 17 7 11 4 1 5 0 4 49 % 35 14 22 8 2 10 0 8 100 27 9 25 5 10 15 0 8 99 27 9 25 5 10 15 0 8 100 Totals %

a Table adapted from Samuels and Steinbart (2002, pp. 102–103). AiAIS was published annually from 1992 to 1998. There were no volumes published in 1994 or 1999. IJAIS was published quarterly from 2000 to 2003. From the AiAIS /IJAIS database, there were 99 Main Articles from 1992 through 2003. Note: Some percentages do not sum to 100% due to rounding.

Fig. 2. AiAIS and IJAIS Main Articles by research topic. Figure adapted from Samuels and Steinbart (2002, p. 104). Data from Table 4.

sections), an increase in timeliness (four published editions per year) of IJAIS that affords an environment to publish a broader array of AIS topics, change in focus of contemporary AIS topics over time (12 years), variation in quality of submissions, or combination of these potential factors. 4.4. AIS research method trends Similar to the previous analyses by research topic, Table 5 provides data on the research methods utilized in the 99 Main Articles published in AiAIS/IJAIS . Note that all eight research methods identified were used in both AiAIS and IJAIS during the respective time periods examined. The utilization of two research methods changed substantially

P.D. Hutchison et al. / Int. J. Account. Inf. Syst. 5 (2004) 341–365 Table 5 AiAIS and IJAIS Main Articles by research methoda Research method Survey Experiment Modeling Archival Case Study Literature Review Descriptive Prescriptive Totals 1992–1998 AiAIS 4 15 11 3 1 2 4 10 50 % 8 30 22 6 2 4 8 20 100 2000–2003 IJAIS 4 12 9 8 3 2 3 8 49 % 8 24 18 16 6 4 6 16 100 8 27 20 11 4 4 7 18 99 Totals

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% 8 27 20 11 4 4 7 18 100

a Table adapted from Samuels and Steinbart (2002, pp. 102–103). AiAIS was published annually from 1992 to 1998. There were no volumes published in 1994 or 1999. IJAIS was published quarterly from 2000 to 2003. From the AiAIS /IJAIS database, there were 99 Main Articles from 1992 through 2003. Note: Some percentages do not sum to 100% due to rounding.

[Archival (+10%) and Experiment (À6%)], while four methods [Modeling (À4%), Case Study (+4%), Descriptive (À2%), and Prescriptive (À4%)] only changed modestly. Use of Survey and Literature Review methods remained constant with little or no relative change in method distribution. The underlying cause for some changes in research method are likely linked to changes in AIS topics that are typically studied using a specific method [e.g., the decrease in Judgment and Decision Making (À6%) may have contributed to the decrease in use of the Experiment (À6%) method]. Fig. 3 graphically compares the use of research methods in AiAIS to IJAIS . This data show changes in research approaches utilized for the two journals. There is not as clear of a shift in methods as witnessed with AIS topic categories. As a percentage, methods have shifted from Experiment (À6%), Modeling (À4%), Descriptive (À2%), and Prescriptive

Fig. 3. AiAIS and IJAIS Main Articles by research method. Figure adapted from Samuels and Steinbart (2002, p. 104). Data from Table 5.

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(À4%) and into Archival (+10%) and Case Study (+4%).10 Again, both journals utilized all eight research methods and significant movements may be attributed to changes in AIS topic coverage, expanded scope of the journal, or editorial direction.

5. Participation analyses This portion of the study reviews authorship strategies, rank and school of residence at publication, and university of degree to ascertain if individuals or groups are dominating the contributions to AiAIS/IJAIS and provide further insights as to participation in the journal. 5.1. Authors per article Shown in Fig. 4, authorship strategies for each year of publication of AiAIS/IJAIS show the significant workload approaches used by contributors of the 99 Main Articles.11,12 Overall, dual works were much greater (55 articles) than the other two approaches (solo and trio) combined (39 articles). AiAIS/IJAIS has had a preponderance of dual work over its 10 years of actual publication, as evidenced by its lead in 9 out of the 10 years presented. Solo and trio articles are close to each other in total number, yet fall substantially behind dual works for most of the years, except 1993 when no dual articles were published. Solo and trio were very similar in quantity for that year. The preponderance of dual work mirrors previous analyses of other accounting and business journals (Hutchison and White, 2003; Urbancic, 1995; Carnaghan et al., 1994). This may indicate an efficient allocation of research labor while maintaining credit for tenure and promotion decisions for individual authors. 5.2. Publications by faculty rank An examination of publications by faculty rank provides knowledge about the experience level of those producing research in AiAIS/IJAIS and its ability to perpetuate its existence. With this in mind, a change in methodology for this analysis will be briefly reviewed. There were 205 record entries by author for the 99 Main Articles in the AiAIS/ IJAIS database, yet the database yielded only the identification of 154 accounting author records.13 Similar to previous accounting research (Hasselback et al., 2001; Daigle and Arnold, 2000; Kozub et al., 1990; Bublitz and Kee, 1984), this study makes the assumption that each author contributed equally in the development of a Main Article in
Rounding causes the net total percentage changes to not equal 0. Note that 1994 and 1999 were years in which no volumes of the journal were issued and therefore, these years were removed from the graphic to enhance its presentation. Also, the accompanying table for the graphic omits five articles that had authorship with more than three authors. 12 The authors use the following terms for authorship strategies: solo=sole-authored, dual=two-authored, and trio=three-authored articles. 13 Hasselback’s (1992–2004) Accounting Faculty Directory was utilized to identify Accounting faculty. There were 51 author entries omitted: 10 Accounting doctoral student author entries, 27 non-Accounting author entries and 14 unknown.
11 10

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Fig. 4. AiAIS and IJAIS Main Articles by authorship. AiAIS was published annually from 1992 to 1998. There were no volumes published in 1994 or 1999. IJAIS was published quarterly from 2000 to 2003. From the AiAIS / IJAIS database, there were 99 Main Articles from 1992 through 2003. Discussant Comment’s, Editorials, and Symposium Introductions are not included. This table omits five articles that had authorship with more than three authors.

the journal. Therefore, each article is weighted by the inverse of the number of authors [e.g., each author of a three-authored work would receive credit for one-third (0.33) of the publication] (Zivney et al., 1995). Based on a weighting approach, assistant professors (37.66) published almost as many weighted articles in total as the associate and full professors combined (39.76) (see Fig. 5). Assistant professors published the most (or tied for the most) in each of the 10 years presented, except in year 2000. This trend suggests junior faculty members are having a large influence on contributions and ultimately, reputation of the journal. This is probably reflective of junior faculty members placing value in AiAIS/IJAIS publications in the tenure and promotion process. This pattern of faculty publication by junior faculty has been noted in other quality journals (Hutchison and White, 2003; Carnaghan et al., 1994). Associate and full professors have produced similar total weighted articles in the journal. This result may be somewhat surprising when considered in the context of the number of full professors relative to associate professors who publish AIS research. Since AIS was established as a subdiscipline in Accounting during the 1980s, it may merely suggest that full professors have not diminished their research or publication agendas. As the field continues to mature and faculty members are promoted in rank, the publication numbers may shift more from the assistant towards the associate and full professor ranks. 5.3. Author’s school at publication The study now assesses participation by reviewing school at publication to determine if any school is having a greater influence on the journal. A listing of schools with the largest number of weighted articles in AiAIS/IJAIS by author’s school of residence at the time of publication is presented in Table 6. The authors of the 99 Main Articles in AiAIS/IJAIS

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Fig. 5. AiAIS and IJAIS Main Articles by faculty rank. AiAIS was published annually from 1992 to 1998. There were no volumes published in 1994 or 1999. IJAIS was published quarterly from 2000 to 2003. From the AiAIS / IJAIS database, there were 99 Main Articles from 1992 through 2003 which produced 205 separate author entries. Discussant Comment’s, Editorials, and Symposium Introductions are not included. Each article is weighted by the inverse of the number of authors. Total Accounting author entries for this table were 154 (205 total author entries less 10 Accounting doctoral student author entries, 27 non-Accounting author entries, and 14 unknown).

represent 76 diverse schools. A review of schools indicates mostly large, public institutions with representation by a foreign school. The University of New Mexico leads the list (6.0 weighted articles), followed by the University of South Florida (5.0), Michigan State University (4.50), and Arizona State University (4.00).14 Interestingly, no one school clearly dominates in overall quantity. Little separation exists between the schools in Table 6, with four and one-third weighted articles separating the top school from those tied for 14th. To emphasize this further, a number of schools are tied with 2.0 and 1.67 publications, respectively. The total weighted articles in AiAIS/IJAIS by an institution may be directly related to the size of their Accounting faculty. Similar to other studies (Hutchison and White, 2003; Bublitz and Kee, 1984; Dyckman and Zeff, 1984), the authors elected to adjust results for size of faculty.15 The last column of the table lists article quantity scaled by a school’s average Accounting faculty size from 1992 through 2003. Once again, The University of New Mexico (0.63 size-adjusted, weighted articles) leads the list by a significant margin. This is followed by a clustering of schools: Bowling Green State University (0.24) advancing to the number two spot, then The University of Queensland (0.23), University of South Florida (0.22), and Michigan State University (0.20). Although this consideration advanced some schools, three of the top five schools remained at the top. Additionally, the

If all co-authors of an article were on the same faculty, the school would receive credit for one full article. Although ideally only AIS faculty should be utilized in these size-adjustments, the authors elected to use tenure-track Accounting faculty. Their rationale is that there are Accounting faculty who publish AIS research who do not identify themselves as Systems in the Hasselback’s (1992–2004) Accounting Faculty Directory.
15

14

P.D. Hutchison et al. / Int. J. Account. Inf. Syst. 5 (2004) 341–365 Table 6 AiAIS and IJAIS Main Articles by school at publication ranking (1992–2003)a University 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 8 8 8 8 13 14 14 14 14 N17 The University of New Mexico University of South Florida Michigan State University Arizona State University Texas A and M University Bowling Green State University The University of Queensland Bryant College Florida State University Texas Tech University University of Southern California The University of Tennessee Georgia State University The University of Alabama University of South Carolina The University of Texas at El Paso The University of Utah Other 59 Schools Totals 6.00 5.00 4.50 4.00 2.83 2.33 2.25 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 1.75 1.67 1.67 1.67 1.67 37.58 Solo 3 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 7 Dual 6 8 7 6 3 0 2 4 4 2 0 2 3 2 2 0 2 43 Trio 0 3 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 2 22 Quartet 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 7 Size-adjusted 0.63 0.22 0.20 0.15 0.11 0.24 0.23 0.12 0.10 0.15 0.08 0.14 0.07 0.10 0.11 0.15 0.12

355

Size-rank 1 4 5 6 12 2 3 10 14 6 16 9 17 14 12 6 10

a From the AiAIS /IJAIS database, there were 99 Main Articles from 1992 through 2003 which produced 205 separate author entries. Discussant Comment’s, Editorials, and Symposium Introductions are not included. Each article is weighted by the inverse of the number of authors. Total Accounting author entries for this table were 166 (205 Total author entries less 27 non-Accounting author entries and 12 unknown). Only schools N1.50 total weighted publications are displayed. For the size-adjusted results, total weighted publications are deflated by average Accounting faculty from 1992 through 2003.

size-adjusted results may be biased somewhat to schools with small Accounting faculty that have an individual who publishes AIS research. Table 6 also notes the number of authors on Main Articles that contribute to their school’s total. As with the overall findings, the dual approach dominates in authorship strategy used by these top schools (43 authors vs. a combined 36 for the other authoring strategies). Finally, predominant authors in the journal may have had a direct impact on these findings (e.g., Jesse F. Dillard and Kristi Yuthas while at The University of New Mexico, James E. Hunton while at the University of South Florida, etc.) It is also noteworthy that this table suggests that IJAIS is meeting its purpose of engaging a global audience for AIS. 5.4. Author’s university of degree Another perspective of participation is to review university of degree. Although authors may reside at different schools, their university of training may have a substantial influence on AiAIS/IJAIS publications. Table 7 details where authors received their terminal degrees. This table shows that the authors of the 99 Main Articles received their degrees from 54 different schools. The schools on this list again represent mostly large, public institutions with no foreign representation. Michigan State University (5.33 weighted articles) holds the top spot for training academics that published in the journal,

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Table 7 AiAIS and IJAIS Main Articles by university of degree ranking (1992–2003)a University 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 12 14 15 16 17 18 N18 Michigan State University University of South Carolina University of Arkansas The University of Texas at Arlington Arizona State University University of Illinois The University of Tennessee The University of Utah Texas Tech University University of Missouri- Columbia Southern Illinois University Carbondale Case Western Reserve University University of South Florida Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Oklahoma State University University of North Texas The University of Texas at Austin University of Southern California Other 36 Schools Totals 5.33 5.08 4.92 4.33 4.00 3.83 3.75 3.17 3.00 2.92 2.67 2.50 2.50 2.17 2.08 2.00 1.92 1.83 23.08 Solo 1 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 6 Dual 8 3 4 6 6 7 6 5 4 4 0 1 1 1 3 2 2 3 27 Trio 1 1 2 4 3 1 0 2 0 2 2 0 3 5 1 0 2 1 7 Quartet 0 1 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 5

a From the AiAIS /IJAIS database, there were 99 Main Articles from 1992 through 2003 which produced 205 separate author entries. Discussant Comment’s, Editorials, and Symposium Introductions are not included. Each article is weighted by the inverse of the number of authors. Total Accounting author entries for this table were 163 (205 Total author entries less 27 non-Accounting author entries and 15 unknown.) Only schools N1.50 total weighted publications are displayed.

followed closely by the University of South Carolina (5.08) and the University of Arkansas (4.92). Note that both the variation of the top schools and the overall separation on this listing (3.50 articles) are narrower than in the school at publication listing. Also, dual articles dominate in authorship strategies (27 authors vs. a combined 18 for other authoring strategies). Although predominant authors in the journal may influence these findings (e.g., Jessie F. Dillard from the University of South Carolina, Vicky Arnold from the University of Arkansas, etc.), a review by the authors of both the top schools on this listing and the school at publication listings evidences more author participation in the journal by school at publication. This reflects that fewer schools award Accounting terminal degrees, yet graduates are employed by a broader pool of institutions and may be employed by different universities over the tenure of their careers.

6. Citation analyses Citation analyses are performed to gain insight into the dissemination of knowledge from the journal to a broad range of literature. Citation analyses in this study are presented from two different perspectives, and then comparisons are drawn and results discussed in the aggregate. The study first looks at citations from one AiAIS/IJAIS article to another previously published article in the journal, within citations . Next, it examines the number

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of citations from articles in other select journals to previously published AiAIS/IJAIS articles, outside citations. 16 Finally, the within and outside citations are combined to obtain overall additional knowledge about citations. As an overall comment, dissemination of knowledge from the journal may have been limited. Since AiAIS/IJAIS has only been in existence a relatively short period of time, 10 years of actual publications, knowledge gleaned from this journal is in its infancy stage when compared to other journals (Hutchison and White, 2003). Additionally, dissemination may be further exasperated by current researchers’ reliance on electronic databases. Searches in many electronic databases did not identify AiAIS/ IJAIS articles during the time period of this study—the notable exception being ScienceDirect (the Elsevier system) that has carried IJAIS articles since late 2001. Therefore, the authors in AiAIS/IJAIS and research conferences have played a substantial role in the dispersion of the journal’s knowledge base. This will likely change dramatically given the exponential growth in electronic downloads (as discussed later) over the past two years (i.e., 2002–2003). 6.1. Within citations The study now examines articles in AiAIS/IJAIS with the largest number of citations to other AiAIS/IJAIS articles. There were 77 within citations to 40 different articles in the journal indicating that 40% of the 99 Main Articles published in AiAIS/IJAIS received at least one citation. Comparing articles in AiAIS to IJAIS shows that almost twice as many different articles in AiAIS were cited than IJAIS (26 vs. 14 articles). This result is not surprising given that the longer the amount of elapsed time from date of publication, the more likely and often an article will be cited. The oldest journal article cited was published in 1992, while the most recently published article came from the December 2002 edition of IJAIS (an interval time span of approximately 11 years). Interestingly, the quantity of citations is somewhat limited with ties for first (four citations) and third (three citations) in the ranking displayed in Table 8. The most cited articles in the within-citations database are by Vicky Arnold, bAccounting Information Systems Research: Attitudes and Perception of Publication Outlets,Q and John C. Anderson and Steven E. Kaplan, bAn Investigation of the Effect of Presentation Format on Auditor’s Noninvestigation Region Judgments.Q A closer examination of the articles identified in this table shows coverage of a variety of AIS topics and research methods. The most recently published article to make this citation listing is by Ed O’Donnell and Julie Smith David, bHow Information Systems Influence User Decisions: A Research Framework and Literature Review,Q which was published in December 2000. Three of the five articles in the listing are from AiAIS , while two are from IJAIS , which is noteworthy considering that only 3 years has passed since the time of publication for the two articles in IJAIS . These results suggest that the quarterly publication format of IJAIS is probably helping the journal reach its audience in a more timely fashion.

16

For both citation analyses, the authors elected to exclude citations to Editorials in AiAIS/IJAIS .

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Table 8 Most cited AiAIS and IJAIS articles by articles within AiAIS and IJAIS (1992–2003)a Author(s) Vicky Arnold Title of article bAccounting Information Systems Research: Attitudes and Perceptions of Publication OutletsQ bAn Investigation of the Effect of Presentation Format on Auditor’s Noninvestigation Region JudgmentsQ bHow Information Systems Influence User Decisions: A Research Framework and Literature ReviewQ bAccounting Information Systems Research: Is It Another QWERTY?Q bAn Experimental Analysis of Multimedia Annual Reports on Nonexpert Report UsersQ Vol. 2 No. Season Year 1993 Pages 133–160 Cites 4

John C. Anderson and Steven E. Kaplan

1

1992

71–88

4

Ed O’Donnell and Julie Smith David

1

3

December

2000

178–203

3

Robin S. Poston and Severin V. Grabski Curtis E. Clements and Christopher J. Wolfe

1

1

March

2000

9–53

3

5

1997

107–136

3

a AiAIS was published annually from 1992 to 1998. There were no volumes published in 1994 or 1999. IJAIS was published quarterly from 2000 to 2003. Out of 77 AiAIS and IJAIS citations by articles within AiAIS and IJAIS from 1992 through 2003, only articles with more than two citations are displayed. Listing is by quantity and then, reverse chronologically.

6.2. Outside citations The outside-citation analyses illustrate the impact of the journal on a broader field of literature. Recognition of the journal is reflected in the number of citations in accountingrelated journals. As previously noted, the authors examined 988 editions of 21 recognized accounting-related journals that publish academic and professional articles for outside citations (see Table 9). This listing consists of respected journals that the authors reviewed either manually or electronically, the inclusive years examined, and specific quantity of citations to AiAIS/IJAIS articles. Results show that the journal had at least one citation in 12 of the 21 journals searched. Again, the journal’s reach may have been limited by its publication in book form from 1992 through 1998 and lack of inclusion in searchable electronic databases until recently. There were 56 outside citations to 33 different articles published in AiAIS/IJAIS , indicating that one-third of the 99 Main Articles received at least one citation. Comparison of AiAIS to IJAIS articles shows that almost three times as many articles in AiAIS were cited than IJAIS (25 vs. 8 articles). Again, this is likely due to the lack of time elapsing in which more recent articles may be cited and built upon in future research. The oldest journal article receiving an outside citation was published in 1992, while the most recently published article came from the March 2003 edition of IJAIS (an interval time span of approximately eleven and one-quarter years). The largest number of citations to AiAIS/IJAIS articles were found in the Journal of Information Systems (13); Advances in Accounting Behavioral Research (11); and five

P.D. Hutchison et al. / Int. J. Account. Inf. Syst. 5 (2004) 341–365 Table 9 Journals reviewed AiAIS and IJAIS outside citations (1992–2003)a Journal Abacus Accounting Forum Accounting Horizons Accounting, Auditing and Taxation Accounting, Management, and Information Technologies Accounting, Organizations and Society Advances in Accounting Behavioral Research Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory Behavioral Research in Accounting Communications of the ACM Contemporary Accounting Research Decision Sciences Information Systems Research International Journal of Intelligent Systems in Accounting, Finance, and Management Journal of Accounting Research Journal of Information Systems Journal of Management Information Systems Management Science MIS Quarterly Review of Business Information Systems The Accounting Review Total=21 journals
a

359

Years reviewed 1992–2003 1999–2002 1992–2003 1996–2003 1992–2000 1992–2003 1998–2002 1992–2003 1992–2003 1992–2000 1992–2003 1992–2002 1992–2003 1996–2002 1992–2003 1992–2003 1992–2002 1992–2003 1992–2003 1998–2003 1992–2003

Quantity 2 3 0 1 0 5 11 3 2 0 0 4 2 5 0 13 0 0 0 5 0 56

The authors reviewed approximately 988 editions of these 21 select journals from 1992 through 2003.

each in Accounting, Organizations and Society ; International Journal of Intelligent Systems in Accounting, Finance, and Management ; and Review of Business (formerly Accounting ) Information Systems .17 The association to these journals is consistent with the goal of AiAIS/IJAI S to contribute to the literature of the overall AIS field. Table 10 presents a listing of articles with the largest number of outside citations from articles in other journals to AiAIS/IJAIS articles. Four articles are tied with three citations each: Cynthia A. Frownfelter and Cheryl L. Fulkerson, bLinking the Incidence and Quality of Graphics in Annual Reports to Corporate Performance: An International Comparison,Q James E. Hunton and Lamont Flowers, bInformation Technology in Accounting: Assessing the Impact on Accountants and Organizations,Q Darrell L. Brown and Martha M. Eining, bThe Role of Decision Aids in Accounting Information Systems Research,Q and Vairam Arunachalam and Bonita A. Daly, bThe Effects of Judgment Feedback in an Earnings Prediction Task Using Accounting Information.Q Interestingly, none of these articles also appeared at the top of the within-citations listing, suggesting that the articles on both listings are impacting readerships of varying journals. Notable also is that three of the four articles on this listing addressed Judgment and Decision Making AIS topics,

17 Of note, there were 49 AiAIS/IJAIS citations in the AIS monograph edited by Arnold and Sutton (2002) titled Researching Accounting as an Information Systems Discipline published by the American Accounting Association.

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Table 10 Most cited AiAIS and IJAIS articles by articles outside of AiAIS and IJAIS (1992–2003)a Author(s) Title of article Vol. 6 No. Season Year 1998 Pages Cites Cynthia A. Frownfelter bLinking the Incidence and Quality and of Graphics in Annual Reports to Cheryl L. Fulkerson Corporate Performance: An International ComparisonQ James E. Hunton and bInformation Technology In Lamont Flowers Accounting: Assessing the Impact on Accountants and OrganizationsQ Darrell L. Brown and bThe Role of Decision Aids in Martha M. Eining Accounting Information Systems ResearchQ Vairam Arunachalam bThe Effects of Judgment Feedback and Bonita A. Daly in an Earnings Prediction Task Using Accounting InformationQ
a

129–151 3

5

1997

3–34

3

4

1996

305–332 3

3

1995

63–99

3

AiAIS was published annually from 1992 to 1998. There were no volumes published in 1994 or 1999. IJAIS was published quarterly from 2000 to 2003. Out of 56 AiAIS and IJAIS citations by articles in journals outside of AiAIS and IJAIS from 1992 through 2003, only articles with more than two citations are displayed. Listing is by quantity and then, reverse chronologically.

although a variety of research methods were employed. Further note that each of these articles was published in AiAIS , the most recent publication being approximately 5 years ago in 1998. 6.3. Comparisons between within and outside citations Additional knowledge can be gained by reviewing all citations, both within and outside the journal. Fig. 6 displays the number and timing of citations by articles both within and outside of the journal to AiAIS/IJAIS articles from 1992 through 2003. Comparing within to outside, total within citations were greater by 21 citations (77 vs. 56 citations). A closer review by year shows that the journal in its new quarterly format as IJAIS is receiving more citations in a shorter period of time than its predecessor, AiAIS (81 vs. 52 citations). Direct comparisons between the two journals show that IJAIS has more within citations (44 vs. 33 citations) and approximately double the outside citations (37 vs. 19 citations) than AiAIS . Journal content structure, quarterly format, inclusion in the ScienceDirect database, and limited change in purpose may each be contributing to these results. The number of citations by articles published in the journal to other AiAIS/IJAIS articles (within citations) shows a high degree of variability. The citations indicate a significant spike in 2000 (22 citations) that is also the year publication of the journal now titled IJAIS resumed. However, from 2000 forward the citations have trended downward. The number of outside citations to journal articles has shown a somewhat steady increase over the past 12 years. In more recent years, the numbers have increased to a higher level, except for 2003. This annual increase may be a function of the accumulated body of work in the journal and/or growing recognition of the journal in the accounting and AIS literature. Total citations (within and outside citations combined) clearly show a significant increase in citations when comparing IJAIS (2000–2003) to AiAIS (1992–1998) years.

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Fig. 6. AiAIS and IJAIS article citations 1992-2003. AiAIS was published annually from 1992 to 1998. There were no editions published in 1994 or 1999. IJAIS was published quarterly from 2000 to 2003.

As an afterthought the authors decided to explore the notion of self-citation with AiAIS/ IJAIS . Because authors are more familiar with their own works, some believe that they are more likely to cite in new publications their previous works. It is also suggested that a motive for some authors may be to enhance their creditability and standing as a researcher based on quantity of citations to their articles. Therefore, this study examines the author(s) of each AiAIS/IJAIS article cited to ascertain if they were a contributing author(s) to the present article that included the citation. The within citations show only 18% for selfcitations, while the outside citations indicate 40%. These results suggest that some authors of AiAIS/IJAIS articles are assisting in disseminating their articles to others by publications in accounting-related journals that identify their AiAIS/IJAIS articles. 6.4. Citations by all articles Further insights can be obtained by determining which articles have the largest number of total citations from all journals (a combination of the within and outside citations). A review of Table 11 indicates that certain articles have a broad appeal to varying audiences of academics and professionals. This listing shows that two articles are tied for first in the ranking with five total citations: Vicky Arnold, bAccounting Information Systems Research: Attitudes and Perceptions of Publication Outlets,Q and John C. Anderson and Steven E. Kaplan, bAn Investigation of the Effect of Presentation Format on Auditor’s Noninvestigation Region Judgments.Q Both of these articles also appeared at the top of the within-citations listing. Six additional articles with four total citations each are tied for third. As a further insight, when comparing Table 11 to Tables 8 and 10, three articles did not make the combined ranking and two new articles appeared: George F. Klersey and Michael T. Dugan, bSubstantial Doubt: Using Artificial Neural Networks to Evaluate Going Concern,Q and Tony M. Tinker and Kristi Yuthas, bThere’s Nothing Like Success: Cartesian Dualisms in Information Systems Research.Q

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Table 11 Most cited AiAIS and IJAIS articles by all articles (1992–2003)a Author(s) Vicky Arnold Title of article bAccounting Information Systems Research: Attitudes and Perceptions of Publication OutletsQ bAn Investigation of the Effect of Presentation Format on Auditor’s Noninvestigation Region JudgmentsQ bAccounting Information Systems Research: Is It Another QWERTY?Q bAn Experimental Analysis of Multimedia Annual Reports on Nonexpert Report UsersQ bInformation Technology in Accounting: Assessing the Impact on Accountants and OrganizationsQ bSubstantial Doubt: Using Artificial Neural Networks to Evaluate Going ConcernQ bThe Effects of Judgment Feedback in an Earnings Prediction Task Using Accounting InformationQ bThere’s Nothing Like Success: Cartesian Dualisms in Information Systems ResearchQ Vol. 2 No. Season Year Pages Cites 1993 133–160 5

John C. Anderson and Steven E. Kaplan Robin S. Poston and Severin V. Grabski Curtis E. Clements and Christopher J. Wolfe James E. Hunton and Lamont Flowers George F. Klersey and Michael T. Dugan Vairam Arunachalam and Bonita A. Daly Tony M. Tinker and Kristi Yuthas

1

1992 71–88

5

1 5

1

March

2000 9–53

4

1997 107–136 4

5

1997 3–34

4

3

1995 137–159 4

3

1995 63–99

4

3

1995 31–59

4

a AiAIS was published annually from 1992 to 1998. There were no editions published in 1994 or 1999. IJAIS was published quarterly from 2000 to 2003. Out of 133 AiAIS and IJAIS citations by articles within and outside of AiAIS and IJAIS from 1992 through 2003, only articles with more than three citations are displayed. Listing is by quantity and then, reverse chronologically.

Interestingly, five of the eight articles in Table 11 utilized the Judgment and Decision Making AIS topic and four of the eight used the Experiment research approach. This may suggest that the previous reach of articles in the journal being disseminated was very focused by topic and method utilized. Note further that this listing influenced by a broader audience of researchers has a more limited time period (an interval time span of approximately eight and one-quarter years) when compared to the within and outside listings and includes articles from the first year of publication (1992) to March 2000. Further, AiAIS is represented by seven articles, while IJAIS has only one in the ranking. This suggests that older AiAIS articles are being identified as quality publications by AIS researchers. With the passage of time allowing for future research to be performed, articles from IJAIS are also likely to have an impact on future research.

7. Electronic article downloads In recent years, electronic journal databases (e.g., ScienceDirect, EBSCOhost, etc.) have allowed institutional subscribers to search journals and download articles electroni-

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Fig. 7. IJAIS electronic articles downloads 2003. Note: Articles in AiAIS are not available for electronic download.

cally. Thus, a new approach to assess dissemination of journal knowledge is by quantity of electronic article downloads. This method has the benefit of providing more timely, and easily accessed and compiled information. From a negative perspective and unlike citation analyses, there is no assurance that a downloaded article will be utilized by a researcher in the development and later publication of an article. Since AiAIS articles are not currently available for electronic download, our limited discussion will focus only on IJAIS articles available through the ScienceDirect electronic database. Tabulated results show that there were 7619 article downloads in 2002 and 17,803 in 2003. This indicates a significant 134% (+9,884 articles) increase in one year. A more detailed review by month for 2003 indicates an increasing trend over time and a threefold monthly increase in a comparison of December to January (see Fig. 7). As more and more schools subscribe to these electronic databases, IJAIS will likely reach a much broader audience with its publications and witness exponential growth in article downloads over the coming years.

8. Conclusions The analyses in this study show that IJAIS is currently on solid footing and poised to expand its purpose, audience, and contributions to the literature in the immediate future. Its redirected focus in 2000 to expand its international audience, implement a quarterly publication approach, include the journal in electronic databases (e.g., ScienceDirect) have well positioned the journal for its future in the marketplace and to better service its stakeholders. Despite only existing since 1992, articles from the journal have been recognized in other academic research, both within and outside the journal. From a content perspective, the number of annual publications in the journal is on an upward trend. This indicates an interest by AIS researchers to publish in the journal or simply a desire by authors to disseminate their research through the journal to a broader, international audience. Further, an examination of AIS research topics and methods

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indicates numerous opportunities for AIS researchers (45 different combinations) and a more dispersed distribution of AIS topics and methods in IJAIS when compared with AiAIS . This can be deemed a positive for the future of the journal, since there is much room for growth and will bode well for IJAIS as it enters its second decade of publication. Participation in the journal evidences an inclusive approach for many potential authors. Although like other journals the dual publication strategy dominates articles in AiAIS/ IJAIS , the journal is receptive to other approaches. Also, as expected, assistant professors facing tenure and promotion evaluations are influencing journal content and value the journal as a quality publication outlet. This may become more balanced with publications from associate and full professors as the AIS field matures. The school at publication listing shows that authors in the journal come from a variety of large, public institutions with no single school having an overbearing effect on journal content. Although there are fewer schools based on university of degree, results do not indicate that graduates of any particular school are having an undue impact on content in the journal. These analyses also indicate that the top schools in both rankings are very close in weighted quantity with no school having a dominant position. Citation analyses show that articles with varying AIS research topics and methods are contributing to the literature. Within citations show much variability, while the quantity of citations from outside the journal evidences an upward trend. The quantity of within and outside citations is substantial and consistent over recent years, indicating that academic researchers recognize the quality of publications in the journal. This increase in citations will allow the journal to enhance its position and reputation in academia. Similarly and although limited, electronic article downloads for IJAIS show an exponential growth pattern from 2002 to 2003, and this trend will likely continue as more institutions subscribe to electronic databases. Downloads will assist the journal in dissemination of its knowledge to a broader audience. From its initial publication in 1992 as AiAIS through its recent edition in December 2003 as IJAIS , the journal has been positioned properly to embrace the future. Today, IJAIS is identified as a premier AIS academic research journal, and the editorial leadership and authors represented in this journal are to be commended for their contributions in accomplishing this feat in such a short period. The content, participation, citation, and article download analyses in this study show that IJAIS is a recognized academic accounting journal and valued by researchers for quality publications that contribute to the literature.

9. Limitations As with any research, the analyses in this study are subject to certain limitations. First, the AIS research topic/method categories are somewhat subjective and based on a framework developed by another study (Samuels and Steinbart, 2002). Additionally, the actual categorization of each article was a function of the judgment of the authors. The school rankings may also be driven by a small subset of faculty who publish AIS academic research, limited by universities who offer terminal degrees in accounting with exposure to AIS research, or influenced by their university’s mission. Although a diligent effort was

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made by the authors to identify all within and outside citations, some omissions may have been occurred.

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