Trust in the financial sector: a bibliometric analysis (1967–2020)

Abstract

The challenges faced by trust in the financial sector over the past thirty years remain unprecedented. Recent developments in financial technologies, blockchain, risk assessments have led to a renewed interest and rapid growth in the number of academic publications on trust in the financial domain. A number of literature reviews have been published focusing on specific aspects and trends of trust in the financial sector. However, far too little attention has been given to developing a global vision of academic knowledge about trust in the financial sector from a statistical perspective. This study was designed to provide insights and updates that have not yet been fully understood or described by other reviews in the domain of trust in the financial system by applying a thorough bibliometric (Scopus tools, Google Trends) and network (VOSviewer) analysis. In this study, the authors proposed a multi-level structured bibliometric analysis process that clearly defines the research stages, taking into account the selection of keywords for searching and the exclusion of irrelevant academic works. A total of 1,148 academic studies published between 1967 and 2020 were analyzed, covering 364 authors, 158 journals, and 101 countries. By applying rigorous bibliometric and network tools, established and emergent research clusters were identified based on key research topics and interrelations. With the help of built-in tools of the Scopus scientometric base, the main stages of scientific interest in the trust in the financial sector were determined. This research’s main findings showed that trust in the financial sector is one of the most multidisciplinary phenomena, and keywords such as human, economy, financial management, finance, organization and management, private sector, public sector are closely related. The research results perform a robust roadmap for further consideration in this area.