Addressing Poverty through Social Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Development: A Comprehensive Bibliometric Analysis

The increasing social and environmental challenges, particularly poverty, have brought social entrepreneurship, a highly researched domain, to the attention of academicians. It has emerged as a critical issue in the context of economic development and societal well-being. The current study presents...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Md. Tota Miah, Zoltán Lakner, Mária Fekete-Farkas
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-01-01
Series:Administrative Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/14/1/16
_version_ 1797344870309822464
author Md. Tota Miah
Zoltán Lakner
Mária Fekete-Farkas
author_facet Md. Tota Miah
Zoltán Lakner
Mária Fekete-Farkas
author_sort Md. Tota Miah
collection DOAJ
description The increasing social and environmental challenges, particularly poverty, have brought social entrepreneurship, a highly researched domain, to the attention of academicians. It has emerged as a critical issue in the context of economic development and societal well-being. The current study presents a comprehensive bibliometric analysis in the field of social entrepreneurship and poverty alleviation to explain the current state, geographical performance, and future research agenda. Utilizing VOS viewer (version 1.6.20) and R Studio software (version 4.3.2), 461 final articles were examined and extracted from the Web of Science database, covering the period from 1998 to 2022. The findings reveal a significant increase in research activity in this field since 2009, indicating a growing demand for it as a solution to social challenges. Notably, the years 2021–2022 witnessed a remarkable 55% surge in research output. The Sustainability Journal ranks first as the most productive source, followed by the Journal of Cleaner Production. The most prolific authors are Nina Kolleck from Germany, David Littlewood, and Diane Holt from the UK. Additionally, this study assesses the geographic distribution of research contributions, highlighting regions with relatively lower research performance, such as South Asian and African countries. Leading in this domain are the UK, Spain, the USA, and European institutions. Co-citation patterns reveal four thematic clusters: <i>(1) dynamics of social entrepreneurship; (2) sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem; (3) social entrepreneurship for social innovation; and (4) integrated sustainable entrepreneurship</i>, shedding light on critical aspects and the intellectual structure of this domain. Finally, keyword co-occurrence analysis identifies emerging research areas, e.g., <i>entrepreneurial development, the role of higher education, enterprise collaboration, inclusive growth, and socio-economic empowerment</i>. This research provides valuable insights for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners committed to achieving sustainable social change.
first_indexed 2024-03-08T11:09:10Z
format Article
id doaj.art-314b4aa80b974142942593cf206fb3d6
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2076-3387
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-08T11:09:10Z
publishDate 2024-01-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Administrative Sciences
spelling doaj.art-314b4aa80b974142942593cf206fb3d62024-01-26T14:11:22ZengMDPI AGAdministrative Sciences2076-33872024-01-011411610.3390/admsci14010016Addressing Poverty through Social Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Development: A Comprehensive Bibliometric AnalysisMd. Tota Miah0Zoltán Lakner1Mária Fekete-Farkas2Doctoral School of Economic and Regional Sciences, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences (MATE), Páter Károly u. 1, 2100 Gödöllő, HungaryInstitute of Agriculture and Food Economics, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences (MATE), Páter Károly u. 1, 2100 Gödöllő, HungaryDoctoral School of Economic and Regional Sciences, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences (MATE), Páter Károly u. 1, 2100 Gödöllő, HungaryThe increasing social and environmental challenges, particularly poverty, have brought social entrepreneurship, a highly researched domain, to the attention of academicians. It has emerged as a critical issue in the context of economic development and societal well-being. The current study presents a comprehensive bibliometric analysis in the field of social entrepreneurship and poverty alleviation to explain the current state, geographical performance, and future research agenda. Utilizing VOS viewer (version 1.6.20) and R Studio software (version 4.3.2), 461 final articles were examined and extracted from the Web of Science database, covering the period from 1998 to 2022. The findings reveal a significant increase in research activity in this field since 2009, indicating a growing demand for it as a solution to social challenges. Notably, the years 2021–2022 witnessed a remarkable 55% surge in research output. The Sustainability Journal ranks first as the most productive source, followed by the Journal of Cleaner Production. The most prolific authors are Nina Kolleck from Germany, David Littlewood, and Diane Holt from the UK. Additionally, this study assesses the geographic distribution of research contributions, highlighting regions with relatively lower research performance, such as South Asian and African countries. Leading in this domain are the UK, Spain, the USA, and European institutions. Co-citation patterns reveal four thematic clusters: <i>(1) dynamics of social entrepreneurship; (2) sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem; (3) social entrepreneurship for social innovation; and (4) integrated sustainable entrepreneurship</i>, shedding light on critical aspects and the intellectual structure of this domain. Finally, keyword co-occurrence analysis identifies emerging research areas, e.g., <i>entrepreneurial development, the role of higher education, enterprise collaboration, inclusive growth, and socio-economic empowerment</i>. This research provides valuable insights for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners committed to achieving sustainable social change.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/14/1/16social entrepreneurshipsocial innovationentrepreneurial ecosysteminclusive growthsustainable social change
spellingShingle Md. Tota Miah
Zoltán Lakner
Mária Fekete-Farkas
Addressing Poverty through Social Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Development: A Comprehensive Bibliometric Analysis
Administrative Sciences
social entrepreneurship
social innovation
entrepreneurial ecosystem
inclusive growth
sustainable social change
title Addressing Poverty through Social Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Development: A Comprehensive Bibliometric Analysis
title_full Addressing Poverty through Social Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Development: A Comprehensive Bibliometric Analysis
title_fullStr Addressing Poverty through Social Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Development: A Comprehensive Bibliometric Analysis
title_full_unstemmed Addressing Poverty through Social Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Development: A Comprehensive Bibliometric Analysis
title_short Addressing Poverty through Social Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Development: A Comprehensive Bibliometric Analysis
title_sort addressing poverty through social entrepreneurship for sustainable development a comprehensive bibliometric analysis
topic social entrepreneurship
social innovation
entrepreneurial ecosystem
inclusive growth
sustainable social change
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3387/14/1/16
work_keys_str_mv AT mdtotamiah addressingpovertythroughsocialentrepreneurshipforsustainabledevelopmentacomprehensivebibliometricanalysis
AT zoltanlakner addressingpovertythroughsocialentrepreneurshipforsustainabledevelopmentacomprehensivebibliometricanalysis
AT mariafeketefarkas addressingpovertythroughsocialentrepreneurshipforsustainabledevelopmentacomprehensivebibliometricanalysis