Mapping the field of responsible sourcing: Topic modeling through bibliometric analysis

Academic interest concerning inclusion of sustainability principles in the field of procurement has been in steady increase over the last 20 years. However, there is an apparent void in bibliometric analyses in this field. To address this gap, VosViewer is used in this study to examine the academic literature on responsible sourcing. 575 peer-reviewed papers from Scopus were analyzed to reveal important topics, authors, and publications connected to the subject in hand. The first part of the analysis analyzed publication activity and listed all high impact journals covering the topic. Geographical distribution of findings showed that developed countries are the most productive in the field, in addition to an increasing interest from developing countries over the last decade. Keyword analysis generated from Vosviewer yielded to four main clusters covering the topic and shaping the intellectual structure of the study: (1) sustainable development & supply chain management, (2) environmental impact of procurement, (3) lifecycle analysis, (4) social responsibility and ethical sourcing. The article discusses the four main clusters and ends with concluding remarks encompassing six knowledge gaps and potential future research fields.