Mapping the evolution of entrepreneurship as a field of research (1990–2013): A scientometric analysis

Abstract

This article applies scientometric techniques to study the evolution of the field of entrepreneurship between 1990 and 2013. Using a combination of topic mapping, author and journal co-citation analyses, and overlay visualization of new and hot topics in the field, this article makes important contribution to the entrepreneurship research by identifying 46 topics in the 24-year history of entrepreneurship research and demonstrates how they appear, disappear, reappear and stabilize over time. It also identifies five topics that are persistent across the 24-year study period––institutions and institutional entrepreneurship, innovation and technology management, policy and development, entrepreneurial process and opportunity, and new ventures––which I labeled as The Pentagon of Entrepreneurship. Overall, the analyses revealed patterns of convergence and divergence and the diversity of topics, specialization, and interdisciplinary engagement in entrepreneurship research, thus offering the latest insights on the state of the art of the field.

The Evolution Process of Entrepreneurship Studies in the 21st Century: Research Insights From Top Business and Economics Journals

“…To the first type of journal, we argue that business, management, and economics are the home for entrepreneurship study. Chandra (2018, p. 6) pointed out that “although engineering, science and arts/humanities literature also contains research on entrepreneurship, to date the field of entrepreneurship remains a core area of research in the business and management domains.” Therefore, we believe that if a topic about entrepreneurship is important, such a topic will appear in the 28 journals selected by us. If a topic never shows up in the 28 journals, then it is reasonable to assume that such topic is peripheral or at least does not successfully attract the attention of the editors of those top journals.…”

“…The third reviewing approach applies scientometric analysis. For example, by integrating topic mapping, visualizing hot topics, and author and journal analysis, Chandra (2018) showed how entrepreneurship studied developed step by step between 1990 and 2013. Landström and Harirchi (2018a) explored entrepreneurship as a scholarly field from viewpoints of entrepreneurship conferences, journals, and economics.…”

“…Unlike the literature surveys mentioned above and following the suggestions of Chandra (2018), we provide a picture of the evolution of entrepreneurship research by analyzing how top business and economics‐relevant journals. We summarize the publication trend on entrepreneurship and show how different research topics are positioned in the entrepreneurship field, what the hot topics are, and what the potential research directions should be.…”

Evaluation of the Relationship Between Youth Entrepreneurship and Emigration Intentions: Theoretical-Methodological Aspects

“…The abundance of analyzed sources justifies the fact that entrepreneurship is a dynamic and rapidly growing field of research with a long-standing intellectual tradition. Its intellectual roots are associated with the works of the scientists: R. Cantillon (1680-1734), F. Knight (1885-1972), J. Schumpeter (1883-1950 and others, which laid the foundations for the definition of entrepreneurship and revealed its relationship with innovation, economic growth, risk and uncertainty (Brown & Thornton, 2013;Boutillier, 2014;Pekkala Kerr, Kerr, & Xu, 2017;Chandra, 2018). Thus, the term "entrepreneurship" has played an important role in the academic literature for about 250 years and has become a centre of great interest in research over the last three decades.…”

“…Marshall ( -1924 etc.) believed that the success of entrepreneurship depends on the qualities that every business person must have: the ability to determine the nature of the activity and its necessity in the market, the evaluation of efficiency, rationality and reliability, perseverance, adaptation to changing environmental factors (Boutillier, 2014;Chandra, 2018). About the middle of the 20th century, J. Schumpeter drew attention to the relationship between entrepreneurship and innovation and emphasized the importance of innovative entrepreneurs as a key tool for the economy to move from a static balance based on individual innovation and entrepreneurial skills (Braguinsky & Klepper, 2009).…”