Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Entrepreneurship research: mapping intellectual structures and research trends

  • Review Paper
  • Published:
Review of Managerial Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Using bibliometric techniques to identify connections between existing entrepreneurship studies, this article seeks to understand the scientific structure of entrepreneurship research and how entrepreneurship scholarship is organized. Co-citation data and quantitative approach were used to identify scientific publications, intellectual structures, and research trends interrelated with theories of innovative entrepreneurship. Data were gathered from the citations and co-citations found in the Science Citation Index Expanded, Social Science Citation Index, and Arts and Humanities Citation Index. Our research reveals six groups of underlying entrepreneurship theories: (1) knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship, (2) creation and networks theory, (3) decision-making theory, (4) specialization of labor, (5) social entrepreneurship theory, and (6) entrepreneurship in the informal economy.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Acs ZJ (1984) The changing structure of the US economy: lessons from the steel industry. Praeger, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Acs ZJ, Braunerhjelm P, Audretsch DB, Carlsson B (2009) The knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship. Small Bus Econ 32(1):15–30

    Google Scholar 

  • Aldrich H (2012) The emergence of entrepreneurship as an academic field: a personal essay on institutional entrepreneurship. Res Policy 41:1240–1248

    Google Scholar 

  • Alvarez SA, Barney JB (2007) Discovery and creation: alternative theories of entrepreneurial action. Strateg Entrep J 26(3):11–26

    Google Scholar 

  • Alvarez SA, Audretsch D, Link A (2016) Advancing our understanding of theory in entrepreneurship. Strateg Entrep J 10(3–4):3–4

    Google Scholar 

  • Amit R, Glosten L, Muller E (1993) Challenges to theory development in entrepreneurship research. J Manag Stud 30(5):815–834

    Google Scholar 

  • Arauzo JM, Manjón MC (2004) Firm size and geographical aggregation: an empirical appraisal in industrial location. Small Bus Econ 22:299–312

    Google Scholar 

  • Audretsch DB (1995) Innovation and industry evolution. MIT Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Audretsch DB, Keilbach M (2007) The theory of knowledge spillover entrepreneurship. J Manag Stud 44(7):1242–1254

    Google Scholar 

  • Audretsch DB, Lehmann EE (2005) Does the knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship hold for regions? Res Policy 34(8):1191–1202

    Google Scholar 

  • Audretsch DB, Bönte W, Keilbach M (2008) Entrepreneurship capital and its impact on knowledge diffusion and economic performance. J Bus Ventur 23(6):687–698

    Google Scholar 

  • Barney JB (1986) Strategic factor markets: expectations, luck, and business strategy. Manag Sci 32(10):1231–1241

    Google Scholar 

  • Barney JB (1991) Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. J Manag 17:99–120

    Google Scholar 

  • Barth F (1963) The role of the entrepreneur of social changes in northern Norway. Universitetsforlaget, Oslo

    Google Scholar 

  • Baumol WJ (1968) Entrepreneurship in economic theory. Am Econ Rev Pap Proc 58(2):64–71

    Google Scholar 

  • Baumol WJ (1993) Formal entrepreneurship theory in economics - existence and bounds. J Bus Ventur 8(3):197–210

    Google Scholar 

  • Birch DL (1979) The job generation process. MIT Program on Neighborhood and Regional Change, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Birley S (1985) The role of networks of cities and growth in regional urban. J Bus Ventur 1:107–117

    Google Scholar 

  • Bouncken RB, Gast J, Kraus S, Bogers M (2015) Coopetition: a systematic review, synthesis, and future research directions. RMS 9(3):577–601

    Google Scholar 

  • Brockhaus RH, Horwitz PS (1985) The psychology of the entrepreneur. In: Sexton DL, Smilor RW (eds) The art and science of entrepreneurship. Ballinger, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Bull I, Willard GE (1993) Towards a theory of entrepreneurship. J Bus Ventur 8(3):183–195

    Google Scholar 

  • Burns BL, Barney JB, Angus RW, Herrick HN (2016) Enrolling stakeholders under conditions of risk and uncertainty. Strateg Entrep J 10(1):97–106

    Google Scholar 

  • Busenitz LW, West GP, Shepherd D, Nelson T, Chandler GN, Zacharakis A (2003) Entrepreneurship research in emergence: past trends and future directions. J Manag 29(3):285–308

    Google Scholar 

  • Busenitz LW, Plummer LA, Klotz AC, Shahzad A, Rhoads K (2014) Entrepreneurship research (1985–2009) and the emergence of opportunities. Entrep Theory Pract 38(5):981–1245

    Google Scholar 

  • Bygrave WD (1993) Theory building in the entrepreneurship paradigm. J Bus Ventur 8(3):255–280

    Google Scholar 

  • Cantillon R (1755) Essay on the nature of trade in general. Henry Higgs, London (edition and translation 1959)

    Google Scholar 

  • Carlsson B, Braunerhjelm P, McKelvey M, Olofsson C, Persson L, Ylinenpää H (2013) The evolving domain of entrepreneursip research. Small Bus Econ 41:913–930

    Google Scholar 

  • Casson M (1982) The entrepreneur: an economic theory. Barnes & Noble Books, Totowa

    Google Scholar 

  • Chandler AD (1962) Strategy and structure: chapters in the history of the industrial enterprise. The MIT Press, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • Chandler AD (1990) Scale and scope: the dynamics of industrial capitalism. Harvard University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark JB (1892) Insurance and business profits. Q J Econ 7:45–54

    Google Scholar 

  • Di Guardo MC, Harrigan KR (2012) Mapping research on strategic alliances and innovation: a co-citation analysis. J Technol Transf 37:789–811

    Google Scholar 

  • Dierickx I, Cool K (1989) Asset stock accumulation and sustainability of competitive advantage. Manag Sci 35:1504–1511

    Google Scholar 

  • Douglas EJ, Shepherd DA (2000) Entrepreneurship as a utility maximizing response. J Bus Ventur 15(3):231–251

    Google Scholar 

  • Drucker PF (1985) Innovarion and enrrepreneurship. Harper & Row, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferreira J, Fernandes C, Ratten V (2016) A co-citation bibliometric analysis of strategic management research. Scientometrics 109(1):1–32

    Google Scholar 

  • Foss NJ, Klein PG, Kor YY, Mahoney JT (2008) Entrepreneurship, subjectivism, and the resource-based view: toward a new synthesis. Strateg Entrep J 2(1):73–94

    Google Scholar 

  • Frank H, Landström H (2015) What makes entrepreneurship research interesting? Reflections on strategies to overcome the rigour–relevance gap. Entrep Reg Dev 28(1–2):51–75

    Google Scholar 

  • Gartner WB (1985) A conceptual framework for describing the phenomenon of new venture creation. Acad Manag Rev 10(4):696–706

    Google Scholar 

  • Gartner WB (1990) What are we talking about when we talk about entrepreneurship? J Bus Ventur 5:15–28

    Google Scholar 

  • Gartner WB, Shane SA (1995) Measuring entrepreneurship over time. J Bus Ventur 10(4):283–301

    Google Scholar 

  • Gartner WB, Davidsson P, Zahra S (2006) Are you talking to me? The nature of community in entrepreneurship scholarship. Entrep Theory Pract 30(3):321–331

    Google Scholar 

  • Geertz C (1963) Peddlers and princes. Chicago University Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Grégorie D, Noël M, Déry R, Béchard J-P (2006) Is there conceptual convergence in entrepreneurship research? a co-citation analysis of frontiers of entrepreneurship research, 1981–2004. Entrep Theory Pract 30(3):333–373

    Google Scholar 

  • Hawley FB (1892) The fundamental error of Kapital and Kapitalzins. Q J Econ 6:280–307

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayek FA (1945) The use of knowledge in society. Am Econ Rev 35(4):519–530

    Google Scholar 

  • Heider F (1958) The psychology of interpersonal relations. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Herron L, Robinson RB (1993) A structural model of the effects of entrepreneurial characteristics on venture performance. J Bus Ventur 8(3):281–294

    Google Scholar 

  • Hjorth D, Jones C, Gartner WB (2008) Introduction for recreating/recontextualising entrepreneurship. Scand J Manag 24:81–84

    Google Scholar 

  • Holmes TJ, Schmitz JA (1990) A theory of entrepreneurship and its application to the to the study of business transfers. J Polit Econ 98(2):265–294

    Google Scholar 

  • Katz J (2003) The chronology and intellectual trajectory of American entrepreneurship education 1876–1999. J Bus Ventur 18:293–300

    Google Scholar 

  • Keyhani M, Lévesque M (2016) The equilibrating and disequilibrating effects of entrepreneurship: revisiting the central premises. Strateg Entrep J 10(1):65–88

    Google Scholar 

  • Kihlstrom RE, Laffont J (1979) A general equilibrium entrepreneurial theory of firm formation based on risk aversion. J Polit Econ 87(4):719–748

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirchoff BA, Phillips BD (1988) The effect of firm formation and growth on job creation in the United States. J Bus Ventur 11:133–149

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirzner I (1973) Competition and entrepreneurship. University of Chicago Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirzner I (1985) Discovery and the capitalist process. University of Chicago Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  • Knight FH (1921) Risk, uncertainty and profit. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • Kraus S (2011) State-of-the-art of current research in international entrepreneurship: a citation analysis. Afr J Bus Manag 5(3):1020–1038

    Google Scholar 

  • Kraus S, Rigtering C (2010) Corporate entrepreneurship as a company philosophy: the case of “&Samhoud”. Int J Entrep Innov 11(3):245–249

    Google Scholar 

  • Kraus S, Filser M, Eggers F, Hills GE, Hultman CM (2012) The entrepreneurial marketing domain: a citation and co-citation analysis. J Res Mark Entrep 14(1):6–26

    Google Scholar 

  • Kraus S, Filser M, O’Dwyer M, Shaw E (2014) Social entrepreneurship: an exploratory citation analysis. RMS 8(2):275–292

    Google Scholar 

  • Kraus S, Meier F, Niemand T (2016) Experimental methods in entrepreneurship research: the status quo. Int J Entrep Behav Res 22(6):958–983

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuechle G, Boulu-Reshef B, Carr SD (2016) Prediction- and control-based strategies in entrepreneurship: the role of information. Strateg Entrep J 10(1):43–64

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuskova VV, Podsakoff NP, Podsakoff PM (2011) Effects of theoretical contribution, methodological rigor, and journal quality, on the impact of scale development articles in the field of entrepreneurship. Strateg Entrep J 5(1):10–36

    Google Scholar 

  • Landström H (2005) Pioneers in entrepreneurship and small business research. Springer, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Landström H, Harirchi G, Aström F (2012) Entrepreneurship: exploring the knowledge base. Res Policy 41(7):1154–1181

    Google Scholar 

  • Lawani S (1981) Bibliometrics: its theoretical foundations, methods and applications. Libri 31(4):294–315

    Google Scholar 

  • Leibenstein H (1968) Entrepreneurship and development. Am Econ Rev 58(2):72–83

    Google Scholar 

  • Lipset SM (1967) Values, education, and entrepreneurship. In: Lipset SM, Solari A (eds) Elites in Latin America. Oxford University Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Low MB (2001) The adolescence of entrepreneurship research: specification of purpose. Entrep Theory Pract 24(4):17–39

    Google Scholar 

  • Markman GD, Phan PH, Balkin DB, Gianiodis PT (2005) Entrepreneurship and university-based technology transfer. J Bus Ventur 20(2):241–263

    Google Scholar 

  • McClelland DC (1961) The achieving society. D. Van Nostrand Company Inc, Princeton

    Google Scholar 

  • Miner JB, Raju NS (2004) Risk propensity differences between managers and entrepreneurs and between low- and high-growth entrepreneurs: a reply in a more conservative vein. J Appl Psychol 89(1):3–13

    Google Scholar 

  • Mises L (1949) Human action: a treatise on economics. Laissez Faire, San Francisco

    Google Scholar 

  • Piore M, Sabel C (1984) The second industrial divide. Basic Books, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Pryor C, Webb JW, Ireland RD, Ketchen D (2016) Toward an integration of the behavioral and cognitive influences on the entrepreneurship process. Strateg Entrep J 10(1):21–42

    Google Scholar 

  • Schildt HA, Henri A, Zahra S, Antti Sillanpää A (2006) Scholarly communities in entrepreneurship research: a co-citation analysis. Entrep Theory Pract 30(3):399–415. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6520.2006.00126.x

    Google Scholar 

  • Schumpeter JA (1934) The theory of economic development. Harvard University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Schumpeter JA (1942) Capitalism, socialism and democracy. Harper & Row, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Shane SA (2000) Prior knowledge and the discovery of entrepreneurial opportunities. Organ Sci 11(4):448–469

    Google Scholar 

  • Shane S, Venkataraman S (2000) The promise of entrepreneurship as a field of research. Acad Manag Rev 25(1):217–226

    Google Scholar 

  • Small H (1973) Co-citation in the scientific literature: a new measure of the relationship between two documents. J Am Soc Inf Sci 24:265–269

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith A (1776) An inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations. Methuen and Co, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith LC (1981) Citation analysis. Libr Trends 30(1):83–106

    Google Scholar 

  • Storey DJ (1994) Employment, Chap. 6. In: Storey DJ (ed) Understanding the small business sector. Routledge, London, pp 160–203

    Google Scholar 

  • Suddaby R, Bruton G, Si S (2014) Entrepreneurship through a qualitative lens: insights on the construction and/or discovery of entrepreneurial opportunity. J Bus Ventur 30(1):1–10

    Google Scholar 

  • Teixeira AC (2011) Mapping the (in)visible col- lege(s) in the field of entrepreneurship. Scientometrics 89:1–36

    Google Scholar 

  • Thurik AR, Wennekers A (2004) Entrepreneurship, small business and economic growth. J Small Bus Enterp Dev 11(1):140–149

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Ness RK, Seifert CF (2016) A theoretical analysis of the role of characteristics in entrepreneurial propensity. Strateg Entrep J 10(1):89–96

    Google Scholar 

  • van Stel AJ (2006) Empirical analysis of entrepreneurship and economic growth. International studies in entrepreneurship series, 13. Springer, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Verbeek A, Debackere K, Luwel M, Zimmermann E (2002) Measuring progress and evolution in science and technology - I: the multiple uses of bibliometric indicators”. Int J Manag Rev 4(2):179–211

    Google Scholar 

  • Vesper K (1982) Introduction and summary of entrepreneurial research. In: Kent CA, Sexton DL, Vesper KH (eds) Encyclopedia of entrepreneurship (pp xxxi–xxxviii). Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall

  • Walker FA (1876) The wages question. Henry Holt, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Waltman L, Van Eck NJ, Noyons ECM (2010) A unified approach to mapping and clustering of bibliometric networks. J Informetr 4(4):629–635

    Google Scholar 

  • Webb JW, Tihanyi L, Ireland RD, Sirmon DG (2009) You say illegal, I say legitimate: entrepreneurship in the informal economy. Acad Manag Rev 34(3):492–510

    Google Scholar 

  • Weerawardena J, Mort GS (2006) Investigating social entrepreneurship: a multidimensional model. J World Bus 41(1):21–35

    Google Scholar 

  • Welsch HP (2004) Entrepreneurship: the way ahead. Routledge, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Welter F, Lasch F (2008) Entrepreneurship research in Europe: taking stock and looking forward. Entrep Theory Pract 32(2):241–248

    Google Scholar 

  • Welter C, Mauer R, Wuebker R (2016) Bridging behavioral models and theoretical concepts: effectuation and bricolage in the opportunity creation framework. Strateg Entrep J 10(1):5–20

    Google Scholar 

  • Westhead P, Wright M (2000) Advances in entrepreneurship, vol I. Elgar, Cheltenham

    Google Scholar 

  • White HD, Grifith BC (1981) Author cocitation: a literature measure of intellectual structure. J Am Soc Inf Sci 32(3):163–171

    Google Scholar 

  • White HD, McCain KW (1998) Visualizing a discipline: an author co-citation analysis of information science, 1972–1995. J Am Soc Inf Sci 49(4):327–355

    Google Scholar 

  • Xi JM, Kraus S, Kellermanns F, Filser M (2015) Mapping the field of family business research: past trends and future directions. Int Entrep Manag J 11(1):113–132

    Google Scholar 

  • Zahra SA (2005) Entrepreneurship and disciplinary scholarship: return to the fountainhead. In: Alvarez SA, Agarwal R, Sorenson O (eds) Handbook of entrepreneurship research. Interdisciplinary Perspectives, Springer, pp 253–268

    Google Scholar 

  • Zahra SA (2007) Contextualizing theory building in entrepreneurship research. J Bus Ventur 22:443–452

    Google Scholar 

  • Zitt M, Bassecoulard E (1994) Development of a method for detection and trend analysis of research fronts built by lexical or cocitation analysis. Scientometrics 30:333–351

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Management and Economics Department, University of Beira Interior & NECE - Research Unit in Business Sciences, Covilhã, Portugal

    João J. M. Ferreira

  2. Intituto Politécnico de Castelo Branco & NECE - Research Unit in Business Sciences, Estrada do Sineiro, Pólo IV, 6200-209, Covilhã, Portugal

    Cristina I. Fernandes

  3. Institute for Entrepreneurship, Fürst-Franz-Josef-Strasse, University of Liechtenstein, 9490, Vaduz, Liechtenstein

    Sascha Kraus

Authors
  1. João J. M. Ferreira
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Cristina I. Fernandes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Sascha Kraus
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to João J. M. Ferreira or Sascha Kraus.

Appendix

Appendix

Articles resulting from co-citation analysis

Article

Citations

Mean Citations per year

Busenitz LW. West GP. Shepherd D. Nelson T. Chandler GN. Zacharakis A. 2003. Entrepreneurship Research in Emergence: Past trends and future directions. Journal of Management. 29 (3): 285–308.

193

17.5

Alvarez SA. Barney J.B. 2007. Discovery and creation: alternative theories of entrepreneurial action. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal. 26 (3): 11–26.

138

19.7

Markman GD. Phan PH. Balkin DB. Gianiodis PT. 2005. Entrepreneurship and university-based technology transfer. Journal of Business Venturing. 20(2): 241–263.

96

10.7

Holmes TJ. Schmitz JA. 1990. A Theory of Entrepreneurship and Its Application to the Study of Business Transfer, Journal of Political Economy. 98(2): 265.

86

3.6

Acs, ZJ. Braunerhjelm P. Audretsch DB. Carlsson B. 2009. The knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship. Small Business Economics. 32 (1): 15–30.

83

16.6

Audretsch DB. Lehmann EE. 2005. Does the knowledge spillover theory of entrepreneurship hold for regions? Research Policy. 34 (8): 1191–1202.

77

8.6

Weerawardena J. Mort GS. 2006. Investigating social entrepreneurship: A multidimensional model. Journal of World Business. 41(1): 21–35.

76

9.5

Amit R. Glosten L. Muller E. 1993. Challenges to theory development in entrepreneurship research. Journal of Management Studies. 30 (5): 815–834.

73

3.5

Baumol WJ. 1993. Formal entrepreneurship theory in economics—existence and bounds. Journal of Business Venturing. 8(3):197–210.

72

3.4

Bull I. Willard GE. 1993. Towards a theory of entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Venturing. 8(3): 183–195.

68

3.2

Douglas EJ. Shepherd DA. 2000. Entrepreneurship as a utility maximizing response. Journal of Business Venturing. 15(3): 231–251.

53

3.8

Herron L. Robinson RB. 1993. A structural model of the effects of entrepreneurial characteristics on venture performance. Journal of Business Venturing. 8(3): 281–294.

53

2.5

Miner JB. Raju NS. 2004. Risk propensity differences between managers and entrepreneurs and between low- and high-growth entrepreneurs: A reply in a more conservative vein. Journal of Applied Psychology. 89(1): 3–13.

53

5.3

Gartner WB. Shane SA. 1995. Measuring entrepreneurship over time. Journal of business venturing. 10(4): 283–301.

51

2.7

Audretsch DB. Keilbach M. 2007. The theory of knowledge spillover entrepreneurship, Journal of Management Studies. 44 (7): 1242–1254.

44

6.3

Webb JW. Tihanyi L. Ireland RD. Sirmon DG. 2009. You say illegal, I say legitimate: entrepreneurship in the informal economy. Academy of Management Review. 34(3): 492–510

41

8.2

Bygrave WD. 1993. Theory building in the entrepreneurship paradigm. Journal of Business Venturing. 8(3): 255–280.

40

1.9

Foss NJ. Klein PG. Kor YY. Mahoney JT. 2008. Entrepreneurship, subjectivism, and the resource-based view: toward a new synthesis. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal. 2 (1): 73–94.

39

6.5

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Ferreira, J.J.M., Fernandes, C.I. & Kraus, S. Entrepreneurship research: mapping intellectual structures and research trends. Rev Manag Sci 13, 181–205 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-017-0242-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-017-0242-3

Keywords

JEL Classification

Search

Navigation