The evolution of socio-technical transition studies: A scientometric analysis

Although socio-technical transition studies have gained lots of attention over recent decades from different aspects, the lack of systematic analysis is seen in this field. This study tries to address this issue using the scientometric analysis of the papers published in the World of Science database from 1995 to 2021. The results indicate a growing trend in publication number in this field. In addition, this study represents a noticeable network of collaborations among scholars. Most papers were published by Netherlands, England, USA, Sweden, and Switzerland respectively. Most relevant authors of the socio-technical transition come from European countries and most cooperation has been between these countries themselves and between them and the countries such as USA and Australia. Frank Geels has the top position of the most relevant and most cited author of the field. The most frequent keyword is sustainability transitions which is an emerging topic in transition studies. The combination of development degree and relevance degree shows that energy transition, sustainability and sustainability transitions are the motor themes of the field. The purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive outlook of existing socio-technical transition research for interested scholars of this field.