THE SCIENTIFIC TRAJECTORY OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND FIRM PERFORMANCE: EVIDENCE FROM THE INTERNATIONAL LITERATURE

Abstract

This study analyzes the structure and evolution of international scientific production on corporate governance and firm performance. A descriptive, quantitative scientometric study was conducted using 552 articles indexed in Scopus between 1992, the year of the first article on the topic, and 2025, covering the entire historical series of output in the field. The records were examined through production and citation indicators and through networks of journal co-citation, co-authorship, keyword co-occurrence, and country collaboration, supported by VOSviewer. The results show continuous expansion of the field, with the highest annual volume in 2025 (71 articles) and a concentration of 38.6% of the publications in the 2021-2025 five-year period. Production is distributed across 154 journals and 74 countries, with the United States, the United Kingdom, and India in central positions. The networks reveal three predominant strands: finance and economics, strategic management, and business ethics/sustainability. The empirical literature remains heterogeneous regarding the effect of governance on performance, with positive, mixed, neutral and, to a lesser extent, negative results. The field is consolidated but still requires comparative designs, multidimensional measures of governance and performance, and greater attention to institutional differences between countries.