Examining the boundaries of entrepreneurial marketing: a bibliographic analysis

Abstract

Purpose

Literature in the entrepreneurial marketing (EM) field continues to flourish with a noted increase in publications in recent years. This study aims to conduct a bibliographic analysis of EM literature, to examine the intellectual landscape of the field and assess scientific productivity and impact.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 1,363 EM papers, extracted from the Web of Science database, were identified between 2005 and 2019. Co-authorship, citation, co-citation and keyword co-occurrence were examined, identifying the most-prominent authors, articles, journals and countries of publication, citation and co-citation. Network maps were created using VOSviewer.

Findings

The findings indicate that EM has become a thriving, multidisciplinary field that has reached a point of maturity, where exploration is seemingly a major focus of the field’s expansion. This maturity is mirrored in the evolution of the EM operationalisation – moving from a narrowly defined scope to a far broader and encompassing operationalisation. Distinct schools of thought emerging in the literature have been identified and emerging trends guiding the future growth of the EM field have been discussed. The expansion of the field continues to be assembled on the foundation of a number of seminal papers.

Originality/value

This research offers an updated examination of the EM field, in particular, including a period of recent expansion in the field. The incorporation of network maps offers a visual depiction of the intellectual landscape of the field.

Citation

Ferreira, C. and Robertson, J. (2020), "Examining the boundaries of entrepreneurial marketing: a bibliographic analysis", Journal of Research in Marketing and Entrepreneurship, Vol. 22 No. 2, pp. 161-180. https://doi.org/10.1108/JRME-05-2020-0046