Popular reporting in the public sector: a systematic literature review and reflections for future research

Purpose - This study aims to characterize, quantitatively and qualitatively, the existing research on popular reporting (PR) in the public sector, to synthesize and evaluate its current state. An overview of published research in this field will ultimately allow us to identify trends and opportunities for future research. Design/methodology/approach - The paper combines both quantitative and qualitative analyses of scientific papers selected from the Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus databases. It analyzes mainly the evolution of production over the years, areas of knowledge, authors and their affiliations, methodological approaches, countries and jurisdictions and research topics explored. Findings - PR in the public sector is a topic still in an early stage of research (only 19 papers in the last eighteen years), by a very limited number of authors. Studies have mainly focused the USA and the local governments. Qualitative methods, namely case studies, have prevailed. Most of the empirical approaches have addressed possible characteristics and content of the PR. Non-empirical papers broadly have suggested PR as a tool to increase accountability. Research limitations/implications - Given its potential contribution to accountability in the public sector, it seems important that PR becomes an institutionalized practice. For this, it is necessary to deeper understand and study this matter. The development of effective practice guidance and standards by regulators and the like, would be leveraged by the contribution of academics by increasing research on this topic. The research would benefit from more authors interested in the topic and an extension to countries other than the USA and Italy, and jurisdictions other than the local governments. Originality/value - To the best of the authors' knowledge, no study so far has sought to characterizing the existing research on PR in the public sector. This study contributes by identifying trends and gaps in this research field, proposing topics for future development, which can help academics to develop research that adds to the advancement of this field. Research gaps identified point to a need to empirically confirm the impact of PR on accountability. Also, exploring about the content of PR may in the future include, among other topics, the perspective of the politicians and public managers. In addition, studying the reasons why preparers do not adhere to PR and whether jurisdictions' institutional factors influence this decision, can advance in understanding the issues of implementing PR in the context of public sector overall.