Stock price crash risk research: current trends and future directions

PurposeUnderstanding and mitigating stock price crash risk is vital for investors and regulators to ensure financial market stability. This study aims to unveil significant research trends and opportunities.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts the bibliometric and systematic review approach to analyse 485 Scopus-indexed articles through citation, keyword co-occurrence, bibliographic coupling, and publication analyses and delve into the depth of crash risk literature.FindingsThis bibliometric review reveals not only a surge in crash risk publications over the last decade but also delineates several emerging thematic threads within this domain. We identify seven distinct themes that have gained prominence in recent literature: bad news hoarding, board characteristics, capital market factors, corporate policies, ownership impact, corporate governance, and external environmental influences on crash risk. This thematic analysis provides a comprehensive overview of the evolving landscape of crash risk research and underscores the multifaceted nature of factors contributing to market instability.Practical implicationsThis study makes a substantial contribution by furnishing a thorough examination of existing studies, pinpointing areas where knowledge is lacking, and shedding light on emerging trends and debates within the crash risk literature.Originality/valueThis study identifies current research trajectories and propels future exploration into agency perspectives, audit quality, and corporate disclosures within crash risk literature.