The landscape of public procurement research: a bibliometric analysis and topic modelling based on Scopus

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the structure and dynamics of academic articles relating to public procurement (PP) in the period 1984–2022 (up to May). The researchers also intend to analyse how this knowledge domain has grown since 1984. Design/methodology/approach A bibliometric analysis was carried out to examine the existing state of PP research. Based on 640 journal articles indexed in the Scopus database and written by 1,247 authors over nearly four decades, a bibliometric analysis was conducted to reveal the intellectual structure of academic works pertaining to PP. Findings Findings reveal that PP research from Scopus has significantly increased in the past decade. Major journals publishing PP research are International Journal of Procurement Management, Journal of Cleaner Production, Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management and Public Money and Management. Results also indicate that authors’ cooperation network is fragmented, showing limited collaboration among PP researchers. In addition, results suggest that the institutional collaboration network in PP research mirrors what is commonly referred to as the North–South divide, signifying insufficient research collaboration between developed and developing countries’ institutions. According to the co-occurrence keyword network and topic modelling, PP revolves around five main themes, including innovation, corruption, sustainable and green PP, PP contracts and small and medium enterprises. Based on these results, several directions for future research are suggested. Social implications This paper provides an increased understanding of the entire PP field and the potential research directions. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first-ever application of bibliometric techniques and topic modelling to examine the development of PP research since 1984 based on scholarly publications extracted from the Scopus database.

Twenty-one years of the Journal of Public Procurement: a performance and content review using bibliometric analysis

“…Co-word analysis examines the relationship amongst keywords used in a particular subject area or journal over a given period. Keywords are used in academic research to establish the core content and thematic trends in academic publications (Rejeb et al , 2023; Abdollahi et al , 2021). Dominant keywords represent trends and priorities and may signify potential fronts or hotspots in public procurement research (Rejeb et al , 2023).…”

“…Keywords are used in academic research to establish the core content and thematic trends in academic publications (Rejeb et al , 2023; Abdollahi et al , 2021). Dominant keywords represent trends and priorities and may signify potential fronts or hotspots in public procurement research (Rejeb et al , 2023). The co-occurrence of two keywords represents the number of publications in which those keywords appear simultaneously in one paper (van Eck and Waltman, 2010).…”

Conceptualising a chameleon: social enterprise as a public provider

“…This paper reviews extant literature for the purpose of conceptualisation, and so, although it is not exclusively a literature review, a methodologically sound approach ultimately enhances this goal. As such, this paper distinguishes from literature review papers, such as Rejeb et al (2023) and Ofori-Amanfo et al (2023). We use Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review and Meta-Analysis Protocols ( PRISMA-P ) for strengthening transparency and accuracy.…”