Digital finance for SMEs and startups: a bibliometric analysis and future research direction

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to provide a broad overview of the corpus of studies on digital finance in relation to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and startups.

Design/methodology/approach

Bibliometric analysis was used, allowing to investigate the relevant literature (735 articles). In accordance with best practices, relevant articles were identified on the topic following the PRISMA 2020 framework that ensures reproducible and rigorous results. The search then proceeds with performance analysis, identifying key trends at the intersection of research fields, including distribution of articles by year, citations by year, most cited contributions and most cited and prolific authors. This is followed by analyses of co-citation, co-authorship and co-occurrence with a detailed description of the thematic clusters identified.

Findings

Performance analysis shows that scholarly output covers a 12-year period, starting in 2011, and demonstrates a growing interest in this topic. Co-occurrence analysis reveals a significant intellectual structure which allows numerous knowledge gaps to emerge, and these offer new opportunities to be addressed in future research.

Originality/value

This study uniquely focuses on the evolution of the research domain related to digital finance associated with SMEs and startups. It provides implications for practitioners and avenues that researchers can develop in the future to produce impactful studies.

Citation

Modina, M., Fedele, M. and Formisano, A.V. (2024), "Digital finance for SMEs and startups: a bibliometric analysis and future research direction", Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-01-2024-0021