An SDG aligned bibliometric analysis of systemic sustainability integration in social entrepreneurship research

Abstract

Social entrepreneurship has increasingly emerged as a strategic mechanism for addressing complex social, economic, and environmental challenges while advancing global sustainable development. As the field has expanded rapidly across multiple disciplines, a comprehensive synthesis of its intellectual evolution and sustainability orientation has become necessary. This study presents a bibliometric analysis of social entrepreneurship and sustainability research to examine its research performance, intellectual structure, global collaboration patterns, conceptual evolution, and alignment with the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs). A total of 918 peer-reviewed publications indexed in the Scopus database between 2005 and 2025 were systematically retrieved using the PRISMA 2020 framework and analysed through Bibliometrix/Biblioshiny (R 4.3.0) and VOSviewer 1.6.20. The findings reveal a substantial expansion of the field, reflected by an annual scientific growth rate of 23.3%, increasing international collaboration, and a progressively consolidated intellectual foundation. Performance analysis identifies the leading journals, authors, institutions, and countries shaping the field, while science mapping demonstrates that sustainability has evolved from a complementary research topic into the principal organising framework of contemporary social entrepreneurship research. Co-citation analysis reveals a cumulative intellectual structure grounded in hybrid organisations, stakeholder governance, and sustainability-oriented entrepreneurship, whereas thematic evolution highlights growing attention towards innovation, ESG, impact investing, sustainability transitions, and systems thinking. Furthermore, the study extends conventional bibliometric reviews by integrating a Theory–Context–Characteristics–Methodology (TCCM) synthesis with explicit SDG mapping, demonstrating strong alignment with SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). By integrating performance analysis, science mapping, TCCM synthesis, and SDG alignment within a unified analytical framework, this study provides a comprehensive understanding of the evolution of social entrepreneurship research while offering valuable theoretical, policy, and practical insights for advancing sustainability-oriented entrepreneurship.