Brazilian Journal of Operations & Production Management Volume 10, Number 2, pp. 33-42. http://dx.doi.org/xxx.xxxxxx.xxx Received: August, 2013 | Accepted: November, 2013. 33 Carlos Soares dos Santos Fluminense Federal University Rio de Janeiro - Brazil csantos@cnen.gov.br Osvaldo Luiz Gonçalves Quelhas Laboratory of Technology, Business Management and Environment – LATEC/UFF School of Engineering Fluminense Federal University Rio de Janeiro - Brazil quelhas@latec.uff.br Sergio Luiz Braga França Laboratory of Technology, Business Management and Environment – LATEC/UFF School of Engineering Fluminense Federal University Rio de Janeiro - Brazil sfranca@latec.uff.br Marcelo Jasmim Meiriño Laboratory of Technology, Business Management and Environment – LATEC/UFF School of Engineering Fluminense Federal University Rio de Janeiro - Brazil marcelo@latec.uff.br Luis Peres Zotes Laboratory of Technology, Business Management and Environment – LATEC/UFF School of Engineering Fluminense Federal University Rio de Janeiro - Brazil lpzotes@gmail.com Transparency in government institutions: a literature review Abstract This paper presents a literature review on the issue of transparency in government institutions. The review is carried out through a bibliometric survey of the Scopus database, brazilian government websites, and brazil- ian legislation. The review explores and evaluates government transpar- ency as it pertains to Brazilian as well as international spheres. An analysis of the articles (from 2011 to 2012) found in the Scopus database using the keyword “transparency,” uncovered the following recurring themes: open government, e-government, government accountability, and com- munication. The theoretical scope was constructed from these issues, plus the more relevant Brazilian legislation as well as issues encountered on websites focusing on international governmental institutions. Thus, it was possible to construct a theoretical framework that should guide the devel- opment of future researches. Keywords: government transparency, open government, e-government, ac- countability, communication government.