A bibliometric review of dividend policy literature

Abstract

This study systematically reviews the dividend policy literature, combining quantitative and qualitative techniques. We screened a sample of 270 articles retrieved from the Scopus database from 1981 to 2022. We contribute to the literature by identifying six research streams based on bibliometric co-citation analysis: (1) Dividend payment practices, (2) Price–dividend relationship, (3) Capital market valuation, and dividend policy, (4) Risk governance and dividend policy, (5) Taxes and dividend policy, and (6) The dividend disconnects and catering incentives. For each of these streams, the central research theme is outlined, allowing us to recommend potential directions for further investigation. We provide influential journals, authors, topics, articles, and institutions from our analyses. We also contribute 77 research questions that can be explored in future research to develop the field of dividend policy. Our findings should be of value to academics, financial executives, policymakers, investors, and other practitioners.