What is going on in entrepreneurship research? A bibliometric and SNA analysis

• Published in: Journal of business research 2023-03, Vol.158, p.113624, Article 113624
• Main Authors: García-Lillo, Francisco, Seva-Larrosa, Pedro, Sánchez-García, Eduardo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bibliographic coupling analysis (BCA); Bibliometrics; Bibliometrix; Entrepreneurship research; Literature review; Social network analysis (SNA)
• ISSN: 0148-2963; 1873-7978
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.113624

•In this paper, we apply bibliometric methods to analyze and characterize the research on entrepreneurship.•5,393 papers containing 470,262 cited references were analyzed.•16 different research fronts were identified through BCA and SNA.•The paper provides a visualization of current research in the field.•The results also identify the most active and influential authors, institutions, articles, and journals in the field. Entrepreneurship is a highly dynamic and fast-growing academic research field with a long intellectual tradition. It attracts scholars with different backgrounds and theoretical frameworks, and with different levels of analyses and methodological orientations. But where is the field headed next? What is going on in entrepreneurship research? The purpose of this paper is to take stock of the current research in the field, to map it using bibliometric methods and social network analysis (SNA), and to offer directions for future research. Bibliographic coupling analysis (BCA) is used in this study, due to its ability to unveil current trends and future priorities as they are reflected at the forefront of research (i.e., active research fronts). Data were collected from the WoS, comprising 5,393 peer-reviewed journal articles published in 273 journals and containing 470,262 cited references. The results provide an overall perspective of the research in the field, identifying 16 different research fronts. We believe that this study significantly contributes to the entrepreneurship field by revealing the advancement of the literature and some of the most active research fronts in this domain, providing insights not previously fully grasped or evaluated by previous literature reviews.