Intellectual structure of management innovation: bibliometric analysis

Abstract

Due to the growing field of management innovation, there is a need to synthesise and reflect on the existing literature, inventory the work done and identify new courses and challenges. To reconcile prior research, scientific publications, intellectual structure and trends related to the research on management innovation were mapped; namely the research lines, their interrelation, evolution, and their fundamental contributions. To provide an overview, was conducted a systematic literature review, based on 206 articles, with bibliometric methods. The intellectual structure on the research on management innovation is divided into theoretical fundamentals, domain formation, and the emerging field. The evolution and the future research directions of the management innovation field in focus areas and key developments were also described. This study contributes to the management innovation research in three ways. First, to the understanding of the intellectual structure of the research field. Second, in an emerging topic, such as the management innovation, which is influenced by the work of authors from various disciplines, it is essential to periodically review its course’s evolution. Third, the analysis of documents’ co-citation patterns demonstrates the construction of this field in a specific period.