Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer

A Bibliometric Review of the Literature on Social Innovation

Abstract

Social innovation (SI)

is a relatively new field of research that is generating interest in the scientific community. This article presents a bibliometric review of research on SI in the period 1971-2021. 1,796 publications were analyzed, and bibliometric methods of performance analysis and scientific mapping were handled. In the performance analysis, several bibliometric indicators were used, such as the h-index, productivity, and citations. In addition, the VOSviewer software was employed to map the bibliographic material. Scientific mapping used co-citation and keyword co-occurrence techniques. References were obtained from the Scopus database. The most relevant research in the field of SI was identified and classified, taking journals, countries, institutions, authors, and publications as units of analysis. The results showed that research in IS has increased considerably since 2009. The United Kingdom positioned itself as the most productive and influential country in this field. Sustainability Journal showed the best combination of productivity and influence in the field of SI. Frank Moulaert turned out to be the most important author of research on IS. Emerging research topics related to SI were sustainability and social entrepreneurship.

JEL Codes: O31, Y10, Z00

Received: 11/02/2022.  Accepted: 14/09/2022.  Published: 01/12/2022. 

 

Keywords

innovation, social innovation, bibliometric analysis, Scopus

PDF (Español) XML (Español)

References

  1. Baker, S., & Mehmood, A. (2015). Social Innovation and the Governance of Sustainable Places. Local Environment, 20(3), 321-334. https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2013.842964
  2. Bock, B.B. (2018). Social Innovation and Sustainability; How to Disentangle the Buzzword and Its Application in the Field of Agriculture and Rural Development. Studies in Agricultural Economics, 114(2), 57-63. http://repo.aki.gov.hu/id/eprint/2199
  3. Broady, M. (1971). Planning as Education and Social Innovation. Community Development Journal, 6(2), 92-102. https://doi.org/10.1093/cdj/6.2.92
  4. Cajaiba-Santana, G. (2014). Social Innovation: Moving the Field Forward. A Conceptual Framework. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 82(1), 42–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2013.05.008
  5. Callon, M., Courtial, J.P., Turner, W.A., & Bauin, S. (1983). From Translations to Problematic Networks: An Introduction to Co-word Analysis. Social Science Information, 22, 191-235. https://doi.org/10.1177/053901883022002003
  6. Campigotto-Sandri, E., Caciatori-Junior, I., Chapaval-Pimentel, P., & Meira-Teixeira, R. (2020). Emprendimiento e innovación sociales: un análisis bibliométrico. Estudios Gerenciales, 36(157), 511-524. https://doi.org/10.18046/j.estger.2020.157.3886
  7. Casillas, J., & Acedo, F. (2007). Evolution of the Intellectual Structure of Family Business Literature: A Bibliometric Study of FBR. Family Business Review, 20(2), 141-162. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-6248.2007.00092.x
  8. Cobo, M. J., López-Herrera, A. G., Herrera-Viedma, E., & Herrera, F. (2011). An Approach for Detecting, Quantifying, and Visualizing the Evolution of a Research Field: A Practical Application to the Fuzzy Sets Theory Field. Journal of Informetrics, 5(1), 146-166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joi.2010.10.002
  9. Dawson, P., & Daniel, L. (2010). Understanding Social Innovation: A Provisional Framework. International Journal of Technology Management, 51(1), 9-21. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJTM.2010.033125
  10. Dees, J.G. (2012). A Tale of Two Cultures: Charity, Problem Solving, and the Future of Social Entrepreneurship. Journal of Business Ethics, 111, 321-334. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1412-5
  11. Farinha, L., Sebastião, J.R., Sampaio, C., & Lopes, J. (2020). Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship: Discovering Origins, Exploring Current and Future Trends. International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, 17(1), 77-96. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12208-020-00243-6
  12. Gaitán-Angulo, M., Cubillos, J., Viloria, A., Lis, J., & Rodríguez, P. (2018). Bibliometric Analysis of Social Innovation and Complexity (Databases Scopus and Dialnet 2007–2017). In Y. Tan, Y. Shi & Q. Tang (eds.), Data Mining and Big Data. DMBD 2018. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol. 10943 (pp. 23-30). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93803-5_3
  13. Garfield, E. (1979). Is Citation Analysis a Legitimate Evaluation Tool? Scientometrics, 1(4), 359-375. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02019306
  14. Gaviria-Marin, M., Merigo, J.M., & Popa, S. (2018). Twenty Years of the Journal of Knowledge Management: A Bibliometric Analysis. Journal of Knowledge Management, 22(8), 1655-1687. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-10-2017-0497
  15. Green, K., & Vergragt, P. (2002). Towards Sustainable Households: A Methodology for Developing Sustainable Technological and Social Innovations. Futures, 34(5), 381-400. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-3287(01)00066-0
  16. Hota, P.K., Subramanian, B., & Narayanamurthy,G. (2019). Intellectual Structure of Social Entrepreneurship Research: A Citation/Co-citation Analysis. Journal of Business Ethics, 13(166), 89-114. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-019-04129-4
  17. Maier, D., Maier, A., Aschilean, I., Anastasiu, L., & Gavris, O. (2020). The Relationship Between Innovation and Sustainability: A Bibliometric Review of the Literature. Sustainability, 12(10), 4083. https://doi:10.3390/su12104083
  18. Mair, J., & Marti, I. (2006). Social Entrepreneurship Research: A Source of Explanation, Prediction, and Delight. Journal of World Business, 41(1), 36-44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2005.09.002
  19. Merigó, J.M., Cancino, C.A., Coronado, F., & Urbano, D. (2016). Academic Research in Innovation: A Country Analysis. Scientometrics, 108, 559-593. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-016-1984-4
  20. Moulaert, F., & Sekia, F. (2003). Territorial Innovation Models: A Critical Survey. Regional Studies, 37(3), 289-302. https://doi.org/10.1080/0034340032000065442
  21. Moulaert, F., & Nussbaumer, J. (2005). Beyond the Learning Region: The Dialectics of Innovation and Culture in Territorial Development. GeoJournal Library, 80, 89-109. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3679-5_5
  22. Moulaert, F. (2016). Social Innovation: Institutionally Embedded, Territorially (re) Produced. In D. MacCallum & S. V. Haddock (Eds.), Social Innovation and Territorial Development (pp. 27-40). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315609478
  23. Moulaert, F., MacCallum, D., Mehmood, A., & Hamdouch, A. (2013). The International Handbook on Social Innovation: Collective Action, Social Learning and Transdisciplinary. Edward Elgar. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781849809993
  24. Moulaert, F., & Mehmood, A. (2020). Towards a Social Innovation (SI) Based Epistemology in Local Development Analysis: Lessons from Twenty Years of EU Research. European Planning Studies, 28(3), 434-453. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2019.1639401
  25. Mulgan, G., Tucker, S., Ali, R., & Sanders, B. (2007). Social Innovation: What It Is, Why It Matters, How It Can Be Accelerated. The Young Foundation.
  26. Murray, R., Caulier-Grice, J., & Mulgan, G. (2010). The Open Book of Social Innovation. NESTA & The Young Foundation.
  27. Neumeier, S. (2012). Why Do Social Innovations in Rural Development Matter and Should They Be Considered More Seriously in Rural Development Research? Proposal for a Stronger Focus on Social Innovations in Rural Development Research. Sociologia Ruralis, 52(6), 48-69. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9523.2011.00553.x
  28. Nicholls, A. (2010). The Legitimacy of Social Entrepreneurship: Reflexive Isomorphism in a Pre-paradigmatic Field. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 34(4), 611-633. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2010.00397.x
  29. Nicholls, A., Simon, J., Gabriel, M., & Whelan, C. (2015). New Frontiers in Social Innovation Research. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137506801
  30. Nijnik, M., Secco, L., Miller, D., & Melnykovych, M. (2019). Can Social Innovation Make a Difference to Forest-Dependent Communities? Forest Policy and Economics, 100, 207-213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2019.01.001
  31. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (2018). Oslo Manual: Guidelines for Collecting, Reporting and Using Data on Innovation, 4th Edition. The Measurement of Scientific, Technological and Innovation Activities. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264304604-en
  32. Peredo, A.M., & Mclean, M. (2006). Social Entrepreneurship: A Critical Review of the Concept. Journal of World Business, 41(1), 56-65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2005.10.007
  33. Pérez González, M., & Lutsak-Yaroslava, N. V. (2017). La producción científica sobre la innovación social para el desarrollo local: una revisión bibliométrica la estructura y la evolución del campo de dominio científico. Prisma Social, (19),146-182. https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=353754089006
  34. Pol, E., & Ville, S. (2009). Social Innovation: Buzz Word or Enduring Term? Journal of Socio-Economics, 38(6), 878-885. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2009.02.011
  35. Seyfang, G., & Haxeltine, A. (2012). Growing Grassroots Innovations: Exploring the Role of Community-Based Initiatives in Governing Sustainable Energy Transitions. Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 30(3), 381-400. https://doi.org/10.1068/c10222
  36. Small, H. G. (1973). Co-citation in the Science Literature: A New Measure of the Relationship Between Two Documents. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 24(4), 265-269. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.4630240406
  37. Smith, I.H., & Woodworth, W.P. (2012). Developing Social Entrepreneurs and Social Innovators: A Social Identify and Self-Efficacy Approach. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 11(3), 390-407. https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2011.0016
  38. Teran-Yépez, E., Marín-Carrillo, G.M., Casado-Belmnote, M.P., & Capobianco-Uriarte, M.M. (2020). Sustainable Entrepreneurship: Review of Its Evolution and New Trends. Journal of Cleaner Production, 252, 119742. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.119742
  39. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). (2018). How Much Does Your Country Invest in R&D? UNESCO Institute for Statistics. https://uis.unesco.org
  40. Van der Have, R. P., & Rubalcaba, L. (2016). Social Innovation Research: An Emerging Area of Innovation Studies? Research Policy, 45(9), 1923-1935. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2016.06.010
  41. Zahra, S.A., Gedajlovic, E., Neubaum, D.O., & Shulman, J.M. (2009). A typology of social entrepreneurs: motives, search processes and ethical challenges. Journal of Business Venturing, 24(5), 519-532. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2008.04.007
  42. Ziegler, R. (2017). Social Innovation as a Collaborative Concept. Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research, 30(4), 388-405. https://doi.org/10.1080/13511610.2017.1348935
  43. Zupic, I., & Čater, T. (2015). Bibliometric Methods in Management and Organization. Organizational Research Methods, 18(3), 429-472. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428114562629

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Similar Articles

<< < 1 2 3 4 5 6 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.