A Decade of Capital Structure Research in Emerging-Market Exporters: A Hybrid Bibliometric and Topic Modeling Review

Authors

  • Sylvia Sandyazmara Devi IPB University, Bogor, Indonesia
  • Noer Azam Achsani IPB University, Bogor, Indonesia
  • Anny Ratnawati IPB University, Bogor, Indonesia
  • Lukytawati Anggraeni IPB University, Bogor, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.38035/gijea.v4i3.1069

Keywords:

Capital Structure, Foreign Exchange Retention, Emerging Market Exporters, Bibliometric Analysis, Structural Topic Modeling

Abstract

This review synthesises a decade of research on the capital structure of firms in emerging markets and natural resource exporting economies, focusing on a policy relevant gap, namely how foreign exchange and export proceeds regulation shapes corporate financing decisions. The study draws on 779 records retrieved from Scopus and refined through a PRISMA 2020 protocol into 83 indexed articles and reviews published between 2016 and 2026, supplemented by four regional journal studies. It applies a hybrid design that combines bibliometric performance analysis and science mapping with a structural topic model and a Theory, Context, Characteristics and Methodology synthesis framework. The findings show a young but accelerating field, with annual output rising sharply after 2020 and peaking in 2025, concentrated in China, the United States, India and Indonesia, and dominated by quantitative panel and econometric methods. Thematic mapping reveals four research streams, in which firm level determinants of capital structure dominate, while streams most relevant to resource exporters, such as export intensity, trade finance, foreign exchange and currency retention dynamics, and state ownership, remain thinly populated. These results consolidate a fragmented literature and identify the regulation of export proceeds, exemplified by Indonesia's export proceeds retention policy, as an underresearched determinant of leverage.

References

Agyei, S. K., Anyigba, H., & Ahali, A. Y. (2023). Liquidity constraints and corporate financing decisions: Evidence from emerging markets. International Review of Financial Analysis, 86, 102511.

Alqahtani, A., Klein, T., & Ziedba, M. (2024). Trade finance and export performance: The role of banking sector stability. Journal of Banking & Finance, 158, 107032.

Aria, M., & Cuccurullo, C. (2017). bibliometrix: An R-tool for comprehensive science mapping analysis. Journal of Informetrics, 11(4), 959–975.

Caballero, J., Candelaria, C., & Hale, G. (2018). Bank linkages and international trade. Journal of International Economics, 115, 30–47.

Donthu, N., Kumar, S., Mukherjee, D., Pandey, N., & Lim, W. M. (2021). How to conduct a bibliometric analysis: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 133, 285–296.

Hussain, M. S., Ahmad, N., & Qureshi, M. A. (2021). Does export intensity affect economic growth? New evidence from dynamic panel data. The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, 30(5), 720–741.

Li, X., & Chen, Y. (2022). Asset tangibility and capital structure: Evidence from a natural experiment. Journal of Corporate Finance, 72, 102145.

Miao, C., Wang, S., & Zhang, H. (2023). Banking internationalization and corporate financing costs: Evidence from bank branch expansions. Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, 83, 101734.

Muttakin, M. B., Mihret, D. G., & Khan, A. (2020). State ownership and the cost of debt: Evidence from an emerging economy. International Review of Financial Analysis, 68, 101440.

Öztekin, Ö. (2021). Dynamic capital structure: A review of the recent literature. Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 56(7), 2415–2445.

Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., & Moher, D. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ, 372, n71.

Paul, J., Lim, W. M., O’Cass, A., Hao, A. W., & Bresciani, S. (2021). Scientific procedures and rationales for systematic literature reviews (SPAR-4-SLR). International Journal of Consumer Studies, 45(4), O1–O16.

Paul, J., & Rosado-Serrano, A. (2019). Gradual internationalization vs born-global/international new venture models: A review and research agenda. International Marketing Review, 36(6), 830–858.

Roberts, M. E., Stewart, B. M., & Tingley, D. (2019). stm: An R package for structural topic models. Journal of Statistical Software, 91(2), 1–40.

van Eck, N. J., & Waltman, L. (2010). Software survey: VOSviewer, a computer program for bibliometric mapping. Scientometrics, 84(2), 523–538.

Downloads

Published

2026-07-30

How to Cite

Devi, S. S., Achsani, N. A., Ratnawati, A., & Anggraeni, L. (2026). A Decade of Capital Structure Research in Emerging-Market Exporters: A Hybrid Bibliometric and Topic Modeling Review. Greenation International Journal of Economics and Accounting, 4(3), 602–619. https://doi.org/10.38035/gijea.v4i3.1069

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 3 (2026): Greenation International Journal of Economics and Accounting (July - August 2026)

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Sylvia Sandyazmara Devi, Noer Azam Achsani, Anny Ratnawati, Lukytawati Anggraeni

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Copyright :

Authors who publish their manuscripts in this journal agree to the following conditions:

  1. Copyright in each article belongs to the author.
  2. The author acknowledges that the GIJEA has the right to be the first to publish under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (Attribution 4.0 International CC BY 4.0).
  3. Authors can submit articles separately, arrange the non-exclusive distribution of manuscripts that have been published in this journal to other versions (for example, sent to the author's institutional repository, publication in a book, etc.), by acknowledging that the manuscript has been published for the first time at GIJEA.