Information environment – An exploration and clarification of the concept based on prior literature

Karin Jonnergård, Christopher von Koch and Ola Nilsson

Advances in accounting, 2020, vol. 50, issue C

Abstract: In the accounting and finance literature, the concept of the information environment (IE) is widely used, but its meaning varies across different articles. Given the considerable presence of the IE concept, it seems relevant to clarify the concept and allow a clearer path forward for future research. With this ambition, this paper reviews articles that apply the concept of IE. Our sample consists of 248 articles published within the accounting and finance field between 2000 and 2017. We confirm an increasing trend in the use of the concept over time and discuss the lack of distinctness in the concept's general meaning. Several definitions of IE appear parallel to one another in the literature; in many cases, these definitions are also inconsistent. To analyze the concept, we use a two-step approach with the following subordinated aims: 1) to identify and clarify different types of IE, and 2) to identify and clarify the components that constitute the firm's IE. We find that the description preceding the term IE signals a border between different types of information or between different societal levels of IE. Also, the concept appears as a “system concept,” and its inclusion of different actors, the relations among these actors, and the effect of these relations on information asymmetry are core aspects that need to be described in future research.

Keywords: Information environment; Literature review (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:advacc:v:50:y:2020:i:c:s0882611020300560

DOI: 10.1016/j.adiac.2020.100486

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