FROM TAX BURDEN TO VALUE CREATION: A BIBLIOMETRIC AND SCIENCE MAPPING ANALYSIS OF THE TAXATION-PERFORMANCE NEXUS

Abstract

This study maps how scholarly discourse on corporate taxation has shifted from a traditional cost-centric perspective toward a value-creation framework within the taxation-performance literature. Using a bibliometric and science mapping approach, the study analyzes 653 Scopus-indexed journal articles published between 1970 and May 2026. The dataset was examined using Scopus Analyzer, OpenRefine, and VOSviewer to assess publication trends, citation impact, keyword co-occurrence patterns, and country-level co-authorship networks. The findings reveal a sharp acceleration in scholarly output after 2015, indicating growing academic and policy interest in taxation as a strategic determinant of firm performance, investment efficiency, and sustainable economic outcomes. Citation analysis exhibits that interdisciplinary contributions from accounting, public economics, finance, governance, and strategic management shape the field. Keyword co-occurrence analysis identifies effective tax rate, tax avoidance, and tax burden as dominant intellectual anchors. At the same time, emerging themes such as Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), sustainability, institutional quality, and corporate governance reflect a broader shift toward stakeholder-oriented value creation. The country collaboration network further indicates a centralized global structure dominated by developed economies, with emerging markets remaining comparatively peripheral. This study contributes by consolidating a fragmented research domain and demonstrating how taxation research has evolved into a multi-level field linking firm behavior, institutional conditions, and economic value creation. The findings offer useful insights for policymakers, firms, Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and future researchers examining taxation beyond its fiscal burden function.