Mapping the intellectual structure of research on institutional investors’ behavior: a bibliometric analysis

Purpose This study aims to analyze the existing body of knowledge concentrating on institutional investors’ behavior. It seeks to track how this domain has evolved through collaborative networks, as well as significant contributors, themes and research opportunities for future work. Design/methodology/approach The present study applies bibliometric analysis to examine the trends in the selected research field, using 446 articles from highly recognized journals indexed in the Scopus database. Findings The authors discovered that research on institutional investors’ behavior has significantly increased over the past four decades due to academic interest in the topic. This study observed five themes that unite the research in this field: institutional investors and corporate behavior; determinants of institutional investors’ trading patterns and performance; trading activity and its outcomes; herding, causes and consequences; and institutional investment and corporate performance. Moreover, future directions are penned down, such as how institutional investors’ control influences governance disclosures. Originality/value This study serves as a guide by mapping and analyzing the intellectual development of the research literature on institutional investors’ behavior. The authors contribute to the knowledge base by providing a solid foundation for further studies.