Mapping the Knowledge on Blockchain Technology in the Field of Business and Management: A Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

Blockchain technology is gaining momentum in business and management (B&M) field for its decentralization, automation, unalterability and traceability. Yet, despite such a wide range of applications, there is little literature that integrates the history and evolution of blockchain. To this end, this study combines science mapping and bibliometric analysis of 696 articles published between 2015 and 2021 obtained from the Web of Science Core Collection database. By drawing the reference co-citation map, bibliographic coupling map and co-word map with CiteSpace and VOSviewer tools, we identify the foundational themes, current status, and future research directions of blockchain literature in B&M. The results indicate that the blockchain research evolves from decentralized transaction and smart contract, and future research is focusing on the role of blockchain in financial risk management, organizational structure and the digital transformation of society.

Keywords

• Business and management
• blockchain technology
• bibliographic coupling
• co-citation analysis
• co-word analysis
• science mapping