A Review of Academic Research on Regional Entrepreneurship: A Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

Introduction. Prior studies have connected entrepreneurship to the economic growth of regions. This fact has led to an increase in academic interest on regional entrepreneurship in Russia and around the world. However, these studies are highly diverse in their research scope, goals, methodologies and results. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to provide some coherence and synthesis to academic research on regional entrepreneurship in Russia. Materials and Methods. Using a bibliometric method of analysis, this research presents an empirical review of academic studies on entrepreneurship in Russian regions. To maintain a quality threshold, our research focus was limited to studies indexed in the Scopus citation database. We analysed 361 articles from 2006 to 2022. The research includes a thorough performance analysis and a scientific mapping of the field. Results. Our results show that the main thematic clusters include entrepreneurship, innovation system, government support, knowledge economy and competitiveness, while emerging themes include pandemic, digitalisation, higher education and investment attractiveness, among others. Also, we identified a number of research gaps, particularly in the sociological research of entrepreneurs, and propose suggestions for future research. Discussion and Conclusion. This article provides an important resource for scholars interested in the study of regional entrepreneurship in Russia and around the world.