International Entrepreneurship: Thematic Mapping and Research Agenda Proposal

Abstract

The objective of this study was to carry out a bibliometric analysis of the production on International Entrepreneurship (IE). From the perspectives of the thematic structure of the field, the thematic mapping technique was used to model the knowledge produced in the field of studies of EI. Data from scientific production on the subject were collected from Scopus and Web of Science databases. Three thematic maps emerged from the study representing the periods 1995-2004, 2005-2014 and 2015-2022. The study concludes that EI is an area of ​​research that has evolved and grown considerably from the second period, showing an explosive increase in publications, from 129 in the first period to 1048 in the second. This increase remained constant, reaching 1956 in the third and final period. The themes that stand out and are most representative in the field of IE were: performance of companies in IE, innovation, knowledge, entrepreneurial companies, entrepreneurial orientation, management, strategy, model and export behavior. There is also a conceptual variation of the themes, in which the performance theme is highlighted, maintaining a high representation in the three periods and with displacements between the basic-transversal themes and the motor themes. Another highlight is the capabilities theme, which over time evolved into the dynamic capabilities theme. As emerging themes, performance, entrepreneurial orientation, entrepreneurship, impact and management appear. Based on the results and conclusions of this study, a research agenda is proposed.