The sharing economy: a bibliometric analysis of the state-of-the-art

Abstract

Purpose

Quantitative bibliometric approaches were used to statistically and objectively explore patterns in the sharing economy literature.

Design/methodology/approach

Journal (co-)citation analysis, author (co-)citation analysis, institution citation and co-operation analysis, keyword co-occurrence analysis, document (co-)citation analysis and burst detection analysis were conducted based on a bibliometric data set relating to sharing economy publications.

Findings

Sharing economy research is multi- and interdisciplinary. Journals focused upon products liability, organizing framework, profile characteristics, diverse economies, consumption system and everyday life themes. Authors focused upon profile characteristics, sharing economy organization, social connections, first principle and diverse economy themes. No institution dominated the research field. Keyword co-occurrence analysis identified organizing framework, tourism industry, consumer behavior, food waste, generous exchange and quality cue as research themes. Document co-citation analysis found research themes relating to the tourism industry, exploring public acceptability, agri-food system, commercial orientation, products liability and social connection. Most cited authors, institutions and documents are reported.

Research limitations/implications

The study did not exclusively focus on publications in top-tier journals. Future studies could run analyses relating to top-tier journals alone, and then run analyses relating to less renowned journals alone. To address the potential fuzzy results concern, reviews could focus on business and/or management research alone. Longitudinal reviews conducted over several points in time are warranted. Future reviews could combine qualitative and quantitative approaches.

Originality/value

We contribute by analyzing information relating to the population of all sharing economy articles. In addition, we contribute by employing several quantitative bibliometric approaches that enable the identification of trends relating to the themes and patterns in the growing literature.

Citation

Kraus, S., Li, H., Kang, Q., Westhead, P. and Tiberius, V. (2020), "The sharing economy: a bibliometric analysis of the state-of-the-art", International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, Vol. 26 No. 8, pp. 1769-1786. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEBR-06-2020-0438