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A Bibliometric Based Review on Social Entrepreneurship and its Establishment as a Field of Research

Author

Listed:
  • Sean Patrick Sassmannshausen

    (Schumpeter School of Business and Economics Wuppertal University, Germany)

  • Christine Volkmann

    (Schumpeter School of Business and Economics Wuppertal University, Germany)

Abstract

This paper provides an overview on the state of art of research on social entrepreneurship and the establishment of this topic in the academic world. It uses scientometric methods, especially bibliometrics, in measuring the maturity of social entrepreneurship research. The empirical part reveals the increasing number of literature, the institutionalization of social entrepreneurship in seven dimensions, the emergence of thematic clusters, and methodological issue. The paper makes concrete suggestions on how to overcome methodological challenges at the boarder of advanced qualitative and early quantitative research designs. Using Harzing’s “Publish or Perish” software this article furthermore provides a ranking of the 20 most cited academic contributions in social entrepreneurship. Surprisingly, almost half of the most cited papers have not been published in journals but in books, rising doubts on the current (over-)rating of journal publications.

Suggested Citation

  • Sean Patrick Sassmannshausen & Christine Volkmann, 2013. "A Bibliometric Based Review on Social Entrepreneurship and its Establishment as a Field of Research," Schumpeter Discussion Papers sdp13003, Universitätsbibliothek Wuppertal, University Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:bwu:schdps:sdp13003
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    11. Sean Patrick Sassmannshausen, 2012. "99 Entrepreneurship Journals A Comparative Empirical Investigation of Rankings, Impact, and H/HC-Index," Schumpeter Discussion Papers sdp12002, Universitätsbibliothek Wuppertal, University Library.
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    20. Alain Fayolle & Harry Matlay, 2010. "Handbook of Research on Social Entrepreneurship," Post-Print hal-02298138, HAL.
    21. Elizabeth Chell & Katerina Nicolopoulou & Mine Karataş-Özkan, 2010. "Social entrepreneurship and enterprise: International and innovation perspectives," Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(6), pages 485-493, October.
    22. William B. Gartner & Per Davidsson & Shaker A. Zahra, 2006. "Are you Talking to Me? The Nature of Community in Entrepreneurship Scholarship," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 30(3), pages 321-331, May.
    23. Weerawardena, Jay & Mort, Gillian Sullivan, 2006. "Investigating social entrepreneurship: A multidimensional model," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 21-35, February.
    24. Anne‐Wil Harzing & Ron van der Wal, 2009. "A Google Scholar h‐index for journals: An alternative metric to measure journal impact in economics and business," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 60(1), pages 41-46, January.
    25. Mair, Johanna & Martí, Ignasi, 2006. "Social entrepreneurship research: A source of explanation, prediction, and delight," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 41(1), pages 36-44, February.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Sayem Hossain & M. Abu Saleh & Judy Drennan, 0. "A critical appraisal of the social entrepreneurship paradigm in an international setting: a proposed conceptual framework," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-22.
    2. Hadad Shahrazad, 2017. "Main research areas and methods in social entrepreneurship," Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, Sciendo, vol. 11(1), pages 893-903, July.
    3. Hameed Asghar Sana & Salem Alkhalaf & Salman Zulfiqar & Waleed Mugahed Al-Rahmi & Ahmad Samed Al-Adwan & Anas Ratib AlSoud, 2021. "Upshots of Intrinsic Traits on Social Entrepreneurship Intentions among Young Business Graduates: An Investigation through Moderated-Mediation Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-23, May.
    4. Barki, Edgard & Comini, Graziella & Cunliffe, Ann & Hart, Stuart & Rai, Sudhanshu, 2015. "Empreendedorismo social e negócio social: pesquisa retrospectiva e prospectiva," RAE - Revista de Administração de Empresas, FGV-EAESP Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo (Brazil), vol. 55(4), July.
    5. Iizuka, Edson Sadao & Varela, Carmen Augusta & Larroudé, Elisa Rodrigues Alves, 2015. "Dilemas de negócios sociais brasileiros: caso Rede Asta," RAE - Revista de Administração de Empresas, FGV-EAESP Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo (Brazil), vol. 55(4), July.
    6. Sayem Hossain & M. Abu Saleh & Judy Drennan, 2017. "A critical appraisal of the social entrepreneurship paradigm in an international setting: a proposed conceptual framework," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 13(2), pages 347-368, June.
    7. Amir Forouharfar & Seyed Aligholi Rowshan & Habibollah Salarzehi, 2018. "An epistemological critique of social entrepreneurship definitions," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 8(1), pages 1-40, December.
    8. Mir Shahid Satar & Deepanshi Aggarwal & Rohit Bansal & Ghadah Alarifi, 2023. "Mapping the Knowledge Structure and Unveiling the Research Trends in Social Entrepreneurship and Inclusive Development: A Bibliometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-28, March.
    9. Paola Bernardi & Alberto Bertello & Canio Forliano & Ludovico Bullini Orlandi, 2022. "Beyond the “ivory tower”. Comparing academic and non-academic knowledge on social entrepreneurship," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 999-1032, September.

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    Keywords

    Social entrepreneurship; bibliometric study; citations; review; organizational establishment; academic institutionalization; development of empirical measurement scales;
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