A bibliometric analysis of the global value chains research field

Abstract

This paper presents a bibliometric analysis of the global value chains (GVC) research field. To identify the most influential authors and contributions, potential collaboration networks, most discussed topics, and areas of further research opportunities within or related to the GVCresearch field, we applied the five most common bibliometric methods, namely citation, co-citation, co-author, and co-word analysis, and bibliometric coupling method. Our dataset for quantitative analysis of available articles, authors, and publication outlets in the GVC research field includes 2,506 articles, book chapters, books, and conference papers from 1,047 different sources in the Web of Science database published between the years 1999 and 2021. Our analysis provided a structured and thorough bibliometric overview of the GVC research field, including the years of the COVID -19 pandemic. The results show that the most frequently researched topics include GVC governance, trade, innovation, and production networks. We also identified future GVC-related bibliometric research streams, such as linking GVCs to international sourcing, corporate functions, and firm performance.