Mapping the landscape of entrepreneurial education research: a bibliometric analysis of trends, themes, and future directions

The rapid expansion of entrepreneurship education research has created a fragmented knowledge landscape lacking systematic organization and comprehensive synthesis. This study addresses these critical gaps through a systematic bibliometric analysis of contemporary research trends and emerging themes in entrepreneurship education. Using the Bibliometrix R package, we analyzed 1,528 articles from the Scopus database covering the period 1981–2025, examining fundamental bibliometric indicators including yearly scientific output, citation trends, prominent authors, journals, and geographic origins. Results reveal a marked increase in research output after 2015, with China, Indonesia, and Malaysia emerging as new research leaders alongside traditional contributors such as the USA and Spain. The analysis identifies two primary conceptual clusters highlighting the dual focus on individual-oriented development driving entrepreneurial self-efficacy and societal-oriented benefits encompassing sustainability and innovation. However, the findings also reveal significant research fragmentation, limited cross-border collaboration, and insufficient testing of pedagogical mechanisms as persistent challenges constraining field advancement. The study demonstrates that research has evolved from a specialized business education niche into a multidisciplinary domain intersecting psychology, sustainability science, and technology studies. These findings provide evidence-based guidance for research scholars, policymakers, and educators seeking to strengthen entrepreneurship education’s role in fostering innovation and socio-economic development through more integrated, collaborative, and methodologically rigorous approaches.