Eighteen years of Society and Business Review: a bibliometric analysis

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to discuss the growth, thematic focus and current scholarly engagement of Society and Business Review through a bibliometric analysis spanning its 18-year history, summarizing its achievements in regular and special issues.

Design/methodology/approach A comprehensive bibliometric analysis was conducted on the contributions of Society and Business Review. This study used descriptive bibliometrics to analyze publication trends, document types and contributions of the most prolific authors. Bibliometric mapping was used to visualize published article content, highlighting the most frequently researched terms and themes and tracking their evolution over time. Data were collected from Google Scholar and Emerald Insight, given the journal’s limited indexing in major databases over the study period.

Findings The bibliometric analysis identified three dominant and recurring keywords representing the journal’s core focus: “Corporate,” “Social,” and “Responsibility.” These themes closely align with the journal’s mission and scope.

Research limitations/implications The study focused on extracting only articles with complete citations in Society and Business Review due to limitations of the Scopus database, including the journal’s delayed inclusion. As a result, the analysis relied on alternative data sources, which may not fully represent the journal’s impact.

Originality/value This study offers unique insights into the development and contributions of Society and Business Review over its 18-year history (2006–2024), providing a roadmap for future research directions and highlighting emerging trends in business-society scholarship.