Technological innovation research in the last six decades: a bibliometric analysis

Abstract

PurposeThis study aims to explore the evolutionary trajectories of technological innovation using 1,361 documents to determine the most cited documents, influential authors, prominent journals and leading countries in the field of technological innovation research.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, the intellectual structure of technological innovation literature was studied using bibliometric co-occurrence and co-citation analyses. The authors focused on the 1,361 documents in this research stream published between 1961 and 2019.FindingsThe findings show that researchers do not appropriately draw on theoretical perspectives external to the field to study different dimensions of technological innovation. This study reveals six distinct areas within the literature: sources of innovation, environmental innovation and technological innovation, investment, economic growth of countries, technological innovation systems for sustainable development, innovation system, research and development and competitiveness.Originality/valueThis study investigates the foundations of the conception, themes and research communities within the technological innovation domain. This paper found strong evidence that technological innovation is one of the keys to the research area in innovation studies.