nep-sog New Economics Papers
on Sociology of Economics
Issue of 2013‒06‒09
five papers chosen by
Jonas Holmström
Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration

  1. Publish or Teach? The Role of the Scientific Environment on Academics' Multitasking By Yann Kossi; Jean-Yves Lesueur; Mareva Sabatier
  2. Does it Matter Which Citation Tool is Used to Compare the H-Index of a Group of Highly Cited Researchers? By Farhadi , Hadi; Salehi , Hadi; Md Yunus , Melor; Arezoo , Aghaei Chadegani; Farhadi , Maryam; Fooladi , Masood; Ale Ebrahim, Nader
  3. Ranking Scientific Journals via Latent Class Models for Polytomous Item Response By Francesco Bartolucci; Valentino Dardanoni; Franco Peracchi
  4. Constructing a research network: accounting knowledge in production By Vassili Joannides; Nicolas Berland
  5. Does Productivity Decline after Promotion? The Case of French Academia By Mareva Sabatier

  1. By: Yann Kossi (GATE Lyon Saint-Etienne - Groupe d'analyse et de théorie économique - CNRS : UMR5824 - Université Lumière - Lyon II - École Normale Supérieure - Lyon); Jean-Yves Lesueur (GATE Lyon Saint-Etienne - Groupe d'analyse et de théorie économique - CNRS : UMR5824 - Université Lumière - Lyon II - École Normale Supérieure - Lyon); Mareva Sabatier (IREGE - Université de Savoie)
    Abstract: The scientific environment might influence university researchers' job designs. In a principal-agent model, researchers must choose between substitutable tasks, publishing or teaching, according to their individual abilities and the scientific and pedagogical context that exists in their universities. This proposed model shows that scientific production can increase, regardless of researchers' abilities, if the scientific environment favours agglomeration effects. The authors test these predictions using an original data set of French economics professors that reveals their individual investments in both teaching and publishing. The econometric results confirm that the tasks conflict and that the scientific context affects researchers' investments in each task.
    Keywords: scientific production ; multitasking ; scientific environment
    Date: 2013–05–07
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-00825980&r=sog
  2. By: Farhadi , Hadi; Salehi , Hadi; Md Yunus , Melor; Arezoo , Aghaei Chadegani; Farhadi , Maryam; Fooladi , Masood; Ale Ebrahim, Nader
    Abstract: h-index retrieved by citation indexes (Scopus, Google scholar, and Web of Science) is used to measure the scientific performance and the research impact studies based on the number of publications and citations of a scientist. It also is easily available and may be used for performance measures of scientists, and for recruitment decisions. The aim of this study is to investigate the difference between the outputs and results from these three citation databases namely Scopus, Google Scholar, and Web of Science based upon the h-index of a group of highly cited researchers (Nobel Prize winner scientist). The purposive sampling method was adopted to collect the required data. The results showed that there is a significant difference in the h-index between three citation indexes of Scopus, Google scholar, and Web of Science; the Google scholar h-index was more than the h-index in two other databases. It was also concluded that there is a significant positive relationship between h-indices based on Google scholar and Scopus. The citation indexes of Scopus, Google scholar, and Web of Science may be useful for evaluating h-index of scientists but they have some limitations as well.
    Keywords: h-index, Scopus, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Nobel Prize, Physics, Chemistry, Economic Sciences.
    JEL: A1 H0 M0 M3 O1 O10 Z0
    Date: 2012–11
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:47414&r=sog
  3. By: Francesco Bartolucci (University of Perugia); Valentino Dardanoni (University of Palermo); Franco Peracchi (University of Rome "Tor Vergata" and EIEF)
    Abstract: We propose a strategy for ranking scientific journals starting from a set of available quantitative indicators that represent imperfect measures of the unobservable "value" of the journals of interest. After discretizing the available indicators, we estimate a latent class model for polytomous item response data and use the estimated model to classify each journal. We apply the proposed approach to data from the Research Evaluation Exercise (VQR) carried out in Italy with reference to the period 2004-2010, focusing on the sub-area consisting of Statistics and Financial Mathematics. Using four quantitative indicators of the journals' scientific value (IF, IF5, AIS, h-index), some of which not available for all journals, we derive a complete ordering of the journals according to their latent value. We show that the proposed methodology is relatively simple to implement, even when the aim is to classify journals into finite ordered groups of a fixed size. Finally, we analyze the robustness of the obtained ranking with respect to different discretization rules.
    Date: 2013
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eie:wpaper:1313&r=sog
  4. By: Vassili Joannides (GDF - Gestion, Droit et Finance - Grenoble École de Management (GEM)); Nicolas Berland (DRM - Dauphine Recherches en Management - CNRS : UMR7088 - Université Paris IX - Paris Dauphine)
    Abstract: Purpose - This paper contributes to the sociology-of-science type of accounting literature, addressing how accounting knowledge is established, advanced and extended. Design/methodology/approach - The research question is answered through the example of research into linkages between accounting and religion. Adopting an Actor-Network Theory (ANT) approach, we follow the actors involved in the construction of accounting as an academic discipline through the controversies in which they engage to develop knowledge. Findings - We show that accounting knowledge is established, advanced and developed through the ongoing mobilisation of nonhumans (journals) who can enrol other humans and nonhumans. We show that knowledge advancement, establishment and development is more contingent on network breadth than on research paradigms, which appear as side-effects of positioning vis-à- vis a community. Research limitations - In our analysis, we followed humans and were able to let them share their strategies with us and validate our ex post facto reading of their papers. We were unable to do the same with nonhumans because of their intrinsic properties. Practical implications - This paper provides scholars with analytical tools that could help them position their research projects within a scientific network and understand the need for interactions with other actors in establishing, advancing and developing knowledge. Originality value - The originality of this paper is twofold. Firstly, we apply ANT to accounting knowledge, whereas the accounting literature applies it to the spread of management accounting ideas, methods and practices. Secondly, we develop an original methodology for data collection by inviting authors from the network to give a reflexive account of their writings at the time they joined the network. Well diffused in sociology and philosophy, such an approach is, albeit, original in accounting research.
    Keywords: Research network; Accounting research; Knowledge; Actor-network theory; Controversies; Translation; Knowledge management
    Date: 2013–05–15
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:gemptp:hal-00824632&r=sog
  5. By: Mareva Sabatier (IREGE - Institut de Recherche en Gestion et en Economie - Université de Savoie)
    Abstract: The present research examined the effect of promotion decisions on ex-post productivity in French academia. As, once promotion decisions are known, most external incentives vanish for promoted candidates, their productivity was expected to decrease. This hypothesis was tested by using an original dataset and matching methods to evaluate the impact of promotion on publication scores. The robustness of the matching estimates was tested using sensitivity analysis. The results clearly show that the removal of extrinsic incentives following promotion does not lead to a fall in productivity in French academia.
    Keywords: promotions ; extrinsic and intrinsic incentives ; academic career
    Date: 2012–09–01
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00825985&r=sog

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