Entrepreneurial intentions: a bibliometric analysis

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to identify the main authors, the main influential universities doing research on entrepreneurial intentions (EIs), the main subject areas and the main productive academic journals on this topic. This paper also aims to shed light on the current knowledge and contributions to the field, in particular co-authorships, co-words, research topics and cluster of themes.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology is based on bibliometric techniques using mapping and clustering. The study has been conducted on 377 articles published in journals indexed in the Scopus database for a period of almost 24 years, that is, from 1 January 1993 to 8 July 2016. VOSviewer software was used to conduct the analysis.

Findings

Findings highlight the top authors, the ranking of the main journals and universities doing research in the field of EIs. Another relevant contribution is the identification and classification of main research streams and gaps that have been highlighted.

Originality/value

This paper is an attempt to clarify the state of the research study and to analyse the progress of the studies on EIs and to elaborate bibliometric studies that help to give some order to the variety of sources. This is helpful for new researchers approaching EIs for the first time and also for those who are familiar with the field.

Citation

Ruiz-Alba, J.L., Guzman-Parra, V.F., Vila Oblitas, J.R. and Morales Mediano, J. (2021), "Entrepreneurial intentions: a bibliometric analysis", Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Vol. 28 No. 1, pp. 121-133. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-07-2019-0221