International co-operation of Ibero-American countries in business administration and economics research: Presence in high-impact journals

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to analyse patterns of international co-operation in economics and management research between Ibero-American countries and between these countries and the USA and Europe. Design/methodology/approach – Taking co-publications as an indicator, the analysis concentrates on articles published in the list of high-impact and high-profile journals used by The Financial Times to draw up its rankings of business schools. Findings – The results obtained show that: the number of articles published by Ibero-American countries in high-impact journals is still proportionally small but that an upward trend seems to have been developing in recent years; participation in international co-operation networks allows researchers from Ibero-American countries, particularly those countries with less scientific development, to carry out research into relevant topics and to attain the degree of excellence required to publish in the most internationally prestigious journals; and contrary to the findings of other work, geographical proximity, shared history, and common language do not seem to have a significant impact on the flow of academic co-operation in the field of business administration and economics amongst Ibero-American countries. Originality/value – The findings of this paper intend to offer relevant information for research institutions and policy makers to analyse, assess, and improve the research schemes in place.