Taking Stock of the Behavioral Theory of the Firm While Looking to the Future: A Bibliometric Review

Abstract

Although the Behavioral Theory of the Firm (BTOF) has drawn increasing attention in organizational studies, there lacks an overall picture of its development status. Using bibliometric methods, we conducted a comprehensive review of 510 articles on BTOF in different dimensions: research methodologies and contexts, the audiences of the BTOF studies, related organization theories, contributing articles, themes, and their dynamic changes. We analyzed the most co-cited articles and the most boundary-spanning studies and identified 13 research themes related to BTOF. The BTOF has been an emerging organization theory with significant implications in innovation, organizational risk-taking, etc. The assumptions, concepts, and mechanisms in BTOF have influenced a wide range of theories in organizational studies, such as organizational learning, evolutionary economics, and institutional theory. Academic interest in the Asian context, especially in the East Asian context, has increased significantly since 2014. Regression methods have attracted great attention, while the mixed-methods approach or exploratory methods are under-utilized in the BTOF literature. The results also suggest that research on adaptive aspirations, organizational slack, R&D investment, and selective attention to multiple goals seems to have much potential in the future.