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Publication cultures and the citation impact of open access

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  • Thomas Eger
  • Armin Mertens
  • Marc Scheufen

Abstract

Does open access (OA) to journal articles foster citations to these articles? We compare the citation impact of gold and green OA in two disciplines: Biology and Economics & Management. The empirical analysis covers all articles of these disciplines included in the Web of Science “Journal Citation Reports” between 2000 and 2019. We show that, controlling for confounding variables pertaining to the journals and articles, gold OA increases citations across all articles. However, the individual disciplines feature starkly different effects: a 18.3% increase in Biology, compared to a decrease by 30.9% in Economics & Management. Also Green OA leads to an increase in citations to academic research. These results are confirmed by a number of robustness checks.

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas Eger & Armin Mertens & Marc Scheufen, 2021. "Publication cultures and the citation impact of open access," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(8), pages 1980-1998, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:mgtdec:v:42:y:2021:i:8:p:1980-1998
    DOI: 10.1002/mde.3429
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Armin Mertens & Marc Scheufen, 2024. "Intellectual property and fourth industrial revolution technologies: how the patent system is shaping the future in the data-driven economy," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 57(1), pages 275-310, April.
    2. Justus Haucap & Nima Moshgbar & W. Benedikt Schmal, 2021. "The impact of the German 'DEAL' on competition in the academic publishing market," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(8), pages 2027-2049, December.
    3. Alexander Cuntz & Frank Mueller-Langer & Alessio Muscarnera & Prince C. Oguguo & Marc Scheufen, 2024. "Access to science and innovation in the developing world," WIPO Economic Research Working Papers 78, World Intellectual Property Organization - Economics and Statistics Division.

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