Share:


Sustainable entrepreneurship: an approach from bibliometric analysis

    Ismael Moya-Clemente   Affiliation
    ; Gabriela Ribes-Giner   Affiliation
    ; Joana Carolina Chaves-Vargas   Affiliation

Abstract

Researchs on issues of Sustainable Entrepreneurship are gaining traction in recent years, with this trend being aligned to the achievement of sustainable development goals set by the UN in 2030. The purpose of this paper is to carry out a bibliometric analysis on research on the subject of sustainable entrepreneurship. The information gathered is extracted from the main collection of the Web of Science (WoS) database since 1999 up to December 2019. Nvivo and VOSviwer software are used to perform initial analysis and citation analysis, co-citations, bibliographic coupling, coauthoring, among others. This study presents advances associated with the main authors, journals and countries, the general and annual citation structure and the development of this field. The results show that the publication trend increases from 2015 onwards, however 2018 and 2019 have seen the greatest production of articles. In relation to the most influential countries, the Netherlands, the United States, Germany, England and Spain are the most representative. It was also found that the most influential journals are the Journal of Cleaner Production and Sustainability. The main contribution is to show the evolution of this topic, so that researchers can use it in their theoretical frameworks and research.

Keyword : bibliometric analysis, sustainable entrepreneurship, sustainable start-up, sustainable innovation, co-citation, bibliographic coupling

How to Cite
Moya-Clemente, I., Ribes-Giner, G., & Chaves-Vargas, J. C. (2021). Sustainable entrepreneurship: an approach from bibliometric analysis. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 22(2), 297-319. https://doi.org/10.3846/jbem.2021.13934
Published in Issue
Jan 29, 2021
Abstract Views
2719
PDF Downloads
2216
Creative Commons License

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

References

Albort-Morant, G., Henseler, J., Leal-Millán, A., & Cepeda-Carrión, G. (2017). Mapping the field: A bibliometric analysis of green innovation. Sustainability, 9(6), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9061011

Alonso, S., Cabrerizo, F. J., Herrera-Viedma, E., & Herrera, F. (2009). h-Index: A review focused in its variants, computation and standardization for different scientific fields. Journal of Informetrics, 3(4), 273–289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joi.2009.04.001

Belz, F. M., & Binder, J. K. (2017). Sustainable Entrepreneurship: A Convergent Process Model. Business Strategy and the Environment, 26(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.1887

Betáková, J., Havierniková, K., Okręglicka, M., Mynarzova, M., & Magda, R. (2020). The role of universities in supporting entrepreneurial intentions of students toward sustainable entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, 8(1), 573–589. https://doi.org/10.9770/jesi.2020.8.1(40)

Biemans, W., Griffin, A., & Moenaert, R. (2007). Twenty years of the Journal of Product Innovation Management: History, participants, and knowledge stock and flows. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 24(3), 193–213. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5885.2007.00245.x

Bocken, N. M. P. (2015). Sustainable venture capital – Catalyst for sustainable start-up success? Journal of Cleaner Production, 108, 647–658. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.05.079

Bonilla, C. A., Merigó, J. M., & Torres-Abad, C. (2015). Economics in Latin America: a bibliometric analysis. Scientometrics, 105(2), 1239–1252. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-015-1747-7

Boons, F., & Lüdeke-Freund, F. (2013). Business models for sustainable innovation: State-of-the-art and steps towards a research agenda. Journal of Cleaner Production, 45, 9–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2012.07.007

Bos-Brouwers, H. E. J. (2010). Corporate sustainability and innovation in SMEs: Evidence of themes and activities in practice. Business Strategy and the Environment, 19(7), 417–435. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.652

Boyack, K. W., & Klavans, R. (2010). Co-Citation Analysis, Bibliographic Coupling, and Direct Citation: Which Citation Approach Represents the Research Front Most Accurately? Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 12(61), 2389–2404.

Broadus, R. N. (1987). Toward a definition of “bibliometrics.” Scientometrics, 12(5–6), 373–379. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02016680

Cancino, C. A., Merigó, J. M., Coronado, F., Dessouky, Y., & Dessouky, M. (2017). Forty years of Computers & Industrial Engineering: A bibliometric analysis. Computers and Industrial Engineering, 113, 614–629. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cie.2017.08.033

Cancino, C. A., Merigó, J. M., Torres, J. P., & Diaz, D. (2018). A bibliometric analysis of venture capital research. Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Science, 23(45), 182–195. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEFAS-01-2018-0016

Cohen, B., & Winn, M. I. (2007). Market imperfections, opportunity and sustainable entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Venturing, 22(1), 29–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2004.12.001

Dean, T. J., & McMullen, J. S. (2007). Toward a theory of sustainable entrepreneurship: Reducing environmental degradation through entrepreneurial action. Journal of Business Venturing, 22(1), 50–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2005.09.003

Demirel, P., Li, Q. C., Rentocchini, F., & Tamvada, J. P. (2019). Born to be green: new insights into the economics and management of green entrepreneurship. Small Business Economics, 52(4), 759–771. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-017-9933-z

Eller, F. J., Gielnik, M. M., Wimmer, H., Thölke, C., Holzapfel, S., Tegtmeier, S., & Halberstadt, J. (2020). Identifying business opportunities for sustainable development: Longitudinal and experimental evidence contributing to the field of sustainable entrepreneurship. Business Strategy and the Environment, 29(3), 1387–1403. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2439

Fahimnia, B., Sarkis, J., & Davarzani, H. (2015). Green supply chain management: A review and bibliometric analysis. International Journal of Production Economics, 162, 101–114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2015.01.003

Fichter, K., & Tiemann, I. (2020). Impacts of promoting sustainable entrepreneurship in generic business plan competitions. Journal of Cleaner Production, 267, 122076. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.122076

Foxon, T., & Pearson, P. (2008). Overcoming barriers to innovation and diffusion of cleaner technologies: some features of a sustainable innovation policy regime. Journal of Cleaner Production, 16(1(suppl. 1)), S148–S161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2007.10.011

Frank Boons, Carlos Montalvo, Jaco Quist, & Marcus Wagner. (2013). Sustainable innovation, business models and economic performance: an overview. Journal of Cleaner Production, 45, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2012.08.013

Gast, J., Gundolf, K., & Cesinger, B. (2017). Doing business in a green way: A systematic review of the ecological sustainability entrepreneurship literature and future research directions. Journal of Cleaner Production, 147, 44–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.01.065

Glänzel, W., Schubert, A., & Czerwon, H. . (1999). A bibliometric analysis of international scientific cooperation of the European Union (1985-1995). Scientometrics, 45(2), 185. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02458432

Halberstadt, J., Schank, C., Euler, M., & Harms, R. (2019). Learning sustainability entrepreneurship by doing: Providing a lecturer-oriented service learning framework. Sustainability (Switzerland), 11(5). https://doi.org/10.3390/su11051217

Hellström, T. (2007). Dimensions of environmentally sustainable Innovation: The structure of ecoinnovation concepts. Sustainable Development, 15(3), 148–159. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.309

Hirsch, J. E. (2005). An index to quantify an individual’s scientific research output. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 102(46), 16569–16572. https://doi.org/10.1061/41064(358)182

Hockerts, K., & Wüstenhagen, R. (2010). Greening Goliaths versus emerging Davids – Theorizing about the role of incumbents and new entrants in sustainable entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Venturing, 25(5), 481–492. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2009.07.005

Kessler, M. M. (1963). Bibliographic coupling between scientific articles. American Documentation, 24, 123–131.

Klewitz, J., & Hansen, E. G. (2014). Sustainability-oriented innovation of SMEs: A systematic review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 65, 57–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.07.017

Kuckertz, A., & Wagner, M. (2010). The influence of sustainability orientation on entrepreneurial intentions - Investigating the role of business experience. Journal of Business Venturing, 25(5), 524–539. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2009.09.001

Leach, M., Rockström, J., Raskin, P., Scoones, I., Stirling, A. C., Smith, A., Thompson, J., Millstone, E., Ely, A., Arond, E., Folke, C., & Olsson, P. (2012). Transforming innovation for sustainability. Ecology and Society, 17(2). https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-04933-170211

Liao, H., Tang, M., Luo, L., Li, C., Chiclana, F., & Zeng, X. J. (2018). A bibliometric analysis and visualization of medical big data research. Sustainability, 10(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10010166

Merigó, J. M., Gil-Lafuente, A. M., & Yager, R. R. (2015). An overview of fuzzy research with bibliometric indicators. Applied Soft Computing Journal, 27, 420–433. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asoc.2014.10.035

Merigó, J. M., Pedrycz, W., Weber, R., & de la Sotta, C. (2018). Fifty years of Information Sciences: A bibliometric overview. Information Sciences, 432, 245–268. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ins.2017.11.054

Merigó, J. M., & Yang, J. B. (2017). Accounting Research: A Bibliometric Analysis. Australian Accounting Review, 27(1), 71–100. https://doi.org/10.1111/auar.12109

Muñoz, P., & Cohen, B. (2018). Sustainable Entrepreneurship Research: Taking Stock and looking ahead. Business Strategy and the Environment, 27(3), 300–322. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2000

Neck, H., Brush, C., & Allen, E. (2009). The landscape of social entrepreneurship. Business Horizons, 52(1), 13–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2008.09.002

Nill, J., & Kemp, R. (2009). Evolutionary approaches for sustainable innovation policies: From niche to paradigm? Research Policy, 38(4), 668–680. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2009.01.011

Ozaki, R. (2011). Adopting sustainable innovation: What makes consumers sign up to green electricity? Business Strategy and the Environment, 20(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.650

Pacheco, D. F., Dean, T. J., & Payne, D. S. (2010). Escaping the green prison: Entrepreneurship and the creation of opportunities for sustainable development. Journal of Business Venturing, 25(5), 464–480. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2009.07.006

Pineda Ospina, D. L. (2015). Bibliometric analysis for the identification of factors of innovation in the food industry. AD-Minister, (27), 95–126. https://doi.org/10.17230/ad-minister.27.5

QSR International. (2020). NVIVO. (version 121) [Computer software]. http://www.qsrinternational.com/nvivo-spanish

Rodgers, C. (2010). Sustainable entrepreneurship in SMEs: a case study analysis. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 132(March), 125–132. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.223

Schaltegger, S. (2014). A Framework for Ecopreneurship. Greener Management International, 2002(38), 45–58. https://doi.org/10.9774/gleaf.3062.2002.su.00006

Schaltegger, S., & Wagner, M. (2011). Sustainable entrepreneurship and sustainability innovation: Categories and interactions. Business Strategy and the Environment, 20(4), 222–237. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.682

Schiederig, T., Tietze, F., & Herstatt, C. (2012). Green innovation in technology and innovation management - an exploratory literature review. R and D Management, 42(2), 180–192. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9310.2011.00672.x

Schot, J., & Geels, F. W. (2008). Strategic niche management and sustainable innovation journeys: Theory, findings, research agenda, and policy. Technology Analysis and Strategic Management, 20(5), 537–554. https://doi.org/10.1080/09537320802292651

Shepherd, D. A., & Patzelt, H. (2011). The new field of sustainable entrepreneurship: Studying entrepreneurial action linking “What is to be sustained” with “What is to be developed.” Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, 35(1), 137–163. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2010.00426.x

Short, J. C., Ketchen, D. J., Shook, C. L., & Ireland, R. D. (2010). The concept of “Opportunity” in entrepreneurship research: Past accomplishments and future challenges. Journal of Management, 36(1), 40–65. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206309342746

Small, H. (1973). Co-citation in the scientific literature: A new measure of the relationship between two documents. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 24(4), 265–269. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.4630240406

Smith, A., Voß, J. P., & Grin, J. (2010). Innovation studies and sustainability transitions: The allure of the multi-level perspective and its challenges. Research Policy, 39(4), 435–448. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2010.01.023

Stirling, A. (2007). A general framework for analysing diversity in science, technology and society. Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 4(15), 707–719. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2007.0213

Terán-Yépez, E., Marín-Carrillo, G. M., Casado-Belmonte, M. del P., & Capobianco-Uriarte, M. de las M. (2020). Sustainable entrepreneurship: Review of its evolution and new trends. Journal of Cleaner Production, 252, 119742. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.119742

van Eck, N. J., & Waltman, L. (2010). Software survey: VOSviewer, a computer program for bibliometric mapping. Scientometrics, 84(2), 523–538. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-009-0146-3

van Eck, N. J., & Waltman, L. (2020). VOSviewer (version 1.6.14) [Computer software]. Centre for Science and Technology Studies, Leiden University. http://www.vosviewer.com/

Varadarajan, R. (2017). Innovating for sustainability: a framework for sustainable innovations and a model of sustainable innovations orientation. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 45(1), 14–36. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-015-0461-6

Wagner, M., Schaltegger, S., Hansen, E. G., & Fichter, K. (2019). University-linked programmes for sustainable entrepreneurship and regional development: how and with what impact? Small Business Economics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-019-00280-4

York, J. G., & Venkataraman, S. (2010). The entrepreneur-environment nexus: Uncertainty, innovation, and allocation. Journal of Business Venturing, 25(5), 449–463. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2009.07.007

Zupic, I., & Čater, T. (2015). Bibliometric methods in management and organization. Organizational Research Methods, 18(3), 429–472. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428114562629