Entrepreneurial Ecosystem of Micro and Small Enterprises: A Bibliometric Analysis

doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-2487416/v1

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Entrepreneurial Ecosystem of Micro and Small Enterprises: A Bibliometric Analysis

https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2487416/v1

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Bibliometric analysis is relatively a new issue in business areas like entrepreneurship and small business management. The present study shows the trends in the literature for the past 10 years in the areas of the entrepreneurial ecosystem of MSEs. Bibliometric analysis has been made using the Dimensions database based on literature documented from 2013 to 2022. In making the analysis, VOS Viewer software has been used to know the number of publications and citations together with countries and organizations that contribute a lot in producing documents in the area in the stated period. The analysis results on 266 publications in the areas show that the United Kingdom, India and the United States take the leading position in their contribution to the publications and the citations. It is implied from the study that the area is not well researched and lacks adequacy of literature. The analysis is found to be very important as it clearly shows the trends in publications and citations in the area. Hence scholars in the area are recommended to conduct research works in the entrepreneurial ecosystem of MSEs to fill the literature gaps existing.

Bibliometric Analysis

Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

MSEs

Entrepreneurship

VOS Viewer

The contribution that Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) played in employment creation, income generation, import substation, and overall development of a country makes it an issue of the century(Ullah, 2019). Facts show that MSEs play a significant role in both developed and developing countries. It is forecasted that MSEs are expected to create economic opportunities worth $12 trillion and create 380 million jobs by 2030, with more than 50 per cent being located in developing countries(DESA, 2019). Furthermore, their role in achieving the Millennium Development Goals(MDGs) is also significant(Vandenberg, 2009). Because they are more labour-intensive than big sectors and require fewer technical skills, micro, and small companies are a rising source of productive employment, particularly for low-income people (Ullah & A, 2019; Vandenberg, 2009).

However, benefiting from MSEs requires creating a conducive environment under which these enterprises start, operate, run and sustain their business. In other words, there should be a favourable entrepreneurial ecosystem suitable for the success of MSEs. By entrepreneurial ecosystem here it is to means the support provided to entrepreneurs for the smooth operation of their businesses. Similarly, Stam and others explained that the entrepreneurship ecosystem consists of a set of elements to sustain entrepreneurship in a given area(Stam & van de Ven, 2021).

Studies are showing that though the issue of MSEs and an ecosystem are not new to the literature, the entrepreneurial ecosystem is relatively a recent phenomenon of business studies that gets the attention of researchers only very recently (Schwarzkopf, 2016, Fredin & Lidén, 2020). Because the concept is so new, it lacks standardized definitions in the fields of business and entrepreneurship. The fact that the agenda is new makes the entrepreneurial ecosystem not developed from a theoretical perspective too(Fubah & Moos, 2021).

It is not common to see bibliometric studies that show the trends in literature in the areas of entrepreneurship. The need for making this analysis is to add knowledge in the areas of the entrepreneurial ecosystem of MSEs based on different kinds of literature made in the last ten years. By doing so, the trends in the research about publications, citations, co-authorship, and countries’ collaboration in the areas of the entrepreneurial ecosystem of MSEs are addressed. This will be significantly important for academicians, policymakers and other stakeholders to know the area very well and point out implications for future research.

Some studies identify the most prolific institutions, countries, authors, papers, and journals in terms of research production. Journal editors, journal publishers, conference organizers, government research policy agencies, pioneers and leading scholars, research centres, and graduate programs) may benefit from such bibliometric analyses, which may assist them to alter their operations if necessary. The recognition of scientific excellence enables notable researchers to share their achievements both within and outside their field of expertise, and it motivates them to contribute more. It also aids junior researchers in their search for academic mentors(Ali et al., 2018).

A common and thorough method for discovering and analyzing vast volumes of scientific data is bibliometric analysis. It allows us to unpack the evolutionary subtleties of a particular discipline while also offering insight into the field's burgeoning regions(Donthu et al., 2021). It's defined as the use of published scientific literature (articles, books, conference proceedings, etc.) to assess research activities, such as output volume, science quality, interdisciplinarity, and networking(Grant, 2015). Bibliometric analysis means the measurement of the qualities of various documents, such as journal articles, conference proceedings, books, and so on. These characteristics can be easily found in academic databases such as Scopus(Ahmi, 2021).

Unlike previous studies that focused primarily on the behavioural and personal/individual characteristics of entrepreneurs, the entrepreneurial ecosystem is receiving attention in recent entrepreneurship research (Lai & Vonortas, 2019). Of course, lots of have been conducted about MSEs and the entrepreneurial ecosystem. A simple search on the Dimensions database using the titles” Micro and Small Enterprises” and “Entrepreneurial Ecosystem” on March 22, 2022, 4:00 AM shows 626,891 publications on MSEs and 114,570 publications on the entrepreneurial ecosystem. However, a similar search on the database on the same date with the title:” Entrepreneurial ecosystem AND “Micro and Small Enterprises” reveals only 440 publications. This leads to the question “is an ecosystem of MSEs not an issue of researchers? To get an answer to this question this bibliometric analysis is conducted and the analysis tried to answer the following basic questions.

What do the publications and citations in the areas of the entrepreneurial ecosystem of MSEs look like in the past 10 years?

Which countries contribute most to the literature on the entrepreneurial ecosystem of MSEs?

What are the most-cited journals in the area?

What does the intellectual structure of knowledge look like?

Although the use of bibliometric analysis in business research is still relatively new, it is gaining a lot of traction in the field attributed to the development of different software such as VOS viewer and different databases like dimensions, Scopus, web of science and pub med (Singleton, 2010)

Bibliometric analysis is used in this study. In making the analysis VOS viewer software and Microsoft excel applications were commonly used. Keywords are used in searching documents from the Dimensions database. The keywords “Entrepreneurial ecosystem” AND “Micro and Small Enterprises” is used in searching the required documents since the objective of the analysis was to know the bibliometric trends in that area. An AND Boolean was used as the intention was to review the trends in the entrepreneurial Ecosystem in the context of MSEs in. The search was made on March 23, 2022, at 6: 30 PM. To narrow the search on the issue under study, the keywords used were in quotation marks and made on the full body of the manuscript. The search results revealed that there are 440 documents in the database as presented in (Fig. 1) below.

Since the objective of the study was to know the trends in the past 10 years, the search was limited to the years 2013 to 2022. The search results show that 434 documents have been published in the area as presented in (Fig. 2) below.

To be more specific to the study area, the search was limited to the areas of business mainly commerce and management, business and management, economics, applied economics, policy and administration and banking, finance and investment. The search results showed that there are 299 documents in the database as presented in (Fig. 3) below.

Finally, publication types were limited to articles, edited books, proceedings and book chapters to widen the scope of the search. The result shows that there are 266 documents as presented in (Fig. 4) below.

To summarize the search strategies used, the number of years (from 2013 to 2022), the areas of study (Commerce, management, business, economics, applied economics, policy and administration, banking, finance and investment) and publication type (articles, edited books, proceedings and book chapters) were the criteria used in searching the intended publication. The final result of the search is summarized in (Fig. 5) below based on the stated criteria.

After the data has been searched from the dimensions database, it was exported in a CSV format to allow the application of VOS Viewer software and different excel formulas. After exporting, the data analysis has been made by using VOW viewer software, excel formulas and graphs. The overall methodology used for the analysis is presented in (Fig. 6) below.

Based on the analysis made using VOS Viewer software and excel applications, the following results were found about several documents and citations, countries and organizations’ collaboration, and the structure of intellectual knowledge in the areas.

4.1 Number of Documents and Citation since 2013

In bibliometric analysis one of the issues that can be addressed is the number of documents and citations in the areas under study. From the search results, it was possible to find the following number of publications and citations in the last ten years in the areas of the entrepreneurial ecosystem of MSEs.

Table 1

Number of publications and citations from 2012 to 2022
Year	Number of Publications	Number of Citations
2013	5	59
2014	1	18
2015	8	74
2016	12	77
2017	16	206
2018	26	119
2019	90	328
2020	42	106
2021	46	28
2022	20	1
Source: Compiled from Dimensions database March 23, 2022, 6:30 PM

The table clearly shows that 2019,2022 and 2020 are the years in which the largest number of publications has been recorded. Regarding citations,2019,2017 and 2018 are the years in which the maximum number of citations have been cited. Graph 1 below clearly shows the trends in several publications and citations.

4.2 Countries Contributed to the Documents

Regarding the collaboration of different countries, in the areas under consideration, the United Kingdom, India and Brazil are the largest contributors of documents in the area. In addition, the greatest number of citations has been recorded by the United States, China and the United Kingdom respectively. Table 2 and graph 2 below clearly show this fact.

Table 2

Documents and citations by Country
Country	Documents	Citations
United Kingdom	14	117
India	8	27
Brazil	6	22
South Africa	6	3
United States	6	167
Australia	5	29
Italy	5	88
Netherlands	5	19
China	4	159
Canada	3	8
Source: Compiled from Dimensions database March 23, 2022, 6:30 PM

4.3 Most Cited Journals and articles in the Area

Studies on Entrepreneurship, Structural Change and Industrial Dynamics, Contexts and FGF studies in small business and entrepreneurship are the three most-cited journals in the area. The top ten cited journals together with the total publications and average citation per publication in the areas of the entrepreneurial ecosystem of MSEs are presented in Table 3 below.

Table 3

Most Cited Journals in Entrepreneurial Ecosystem of MSEs
Name of The Journal	TP	TC	CPP
Studies on Entrepreneurship, Structural Change and Industrial Dynamics	5	158	32
Contextus - Revista Contemporânea de Economia e Gestão	1	46	46
FGF Studies in Small Business and Entrepreneurship	1	44	44
Journal of Creativity, Invention, Innovation and Entrepreneurship	2	43	22
Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance in Emerging Markets	7	33	5
International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business	4	31	8
Journal of Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs	2	30	15
Journal of the Knowledge-Economy	2	26	13
Entrepreneurship in BRICS	2	26	13
The Journal of Entrepreneurship	2	18	9
Note: TP = Total publications, TC = Total Citations, CPP = Average Citation per Publication
Compiled from Dimensions database March 23, 2022, 6:30 PM

4.4 Intellectual Structure of Knowledge in the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem of MSEs

Using VOS Viewer taking co-citation types of analysis and applying cited authors as a unit of analysis, the following cluster of authors contributed to the intellectual structure of knowledge in the areas of the entrepreneurial ecosystem of MSEs. The minimum number of citations of an author was taken as 5 and based on that, of 8,811 authors,14 meet the threshold. The maximum number of citations (44) with total link strength of 381 is recorded by Wright Mike. (Fig. 7) below clearly shows the intellectual structure of knowledge among authors

4.5 Nature of collaboration

The nature of collaboration of authors using VOS Viewer has been seen in a co-authorship, country or organizational levels. The following (Fig. 8) shows collaboration by co-authorship.

In addition to authorship, collaborations were examined at the country level. The United Kingdom, India and the United States take the leading position. The following (Fig. 9) shows collaborations by country.

The collaboration at an organisational level is presented in (Fig. 10) below. The figure clearly shows the most collaborative organization in the areas of the entrepreneurial ecosystem of MSEs.

MSEs are attracting the attention of researchers, policymakers, and government and non-government organizations attributed to their contribution to employment creation, income generation, innovation and overall growth and development of a nation. Though a significant number of literature and publications are available worldwide in different databases about MSEs, the agenda of the entrepreneurial ecosystem of MSEs is not as well developed. Theories in the areas are not well formulated and the issues are not as well theorized. The bibliometric analysis made based on the last ten years justifies this fact. The total number of publications, citations, and cooperation among countries and organizations is not as adequate as compared to the time coverage addressed in this analysis.

It is implied that much should be done in the area. Since Ecosystem development is a prerequisite for the development of MSEs, efforts should have to be done in developing a conducive environment under which MSEs can start, operate, run and sustain their business. This is possible if scholars in the area identify research findings and show policy directions in developing the ecosystem of MSEs. Hence, the entrepreneurial ecosystem of MSEs should be a research agenda of the 21st century. The contribution of Micro and Small Enterprises is not as their names” micro” and “small”. The world’s greater employment opportunities are created by MSEs, their role in the GDP growth of a country is significant and addresses a large group of individuals including the marginalized and the poor. This makes Micro and Small Enterprises, not by their name micro and small but macro and large enterprises in overall role and contribution.

The fact that literature in the areas of the entrepreneurial ecosystem of MSEs is not well-developed shows that significant literature gaps exist in the areas. Making bibliometric analysis like this will be greatly important in identifying the gaps in publications, citations, countries’ contributions and collaborations. Moreover, organizations and Universities’ participation in supporting the areas through the provision of policy directions and other supports contribute a lot if much is researched in the areas. Hence, bibliometric analysis like this will not only clearly show the trends in the literature but also initiate researchers to participate in the area to fill gaps in the literature. Researchers, Universities and other stakeholders are recommended to explore the area and play their role in identifying literature gaps in the areas of the entrepreneurial ecosystem of MSEs. It is also suggested that as the area is not well theorized, scholars in the area are advised to formulate foundation theories and play their role in the development of literature in the entrepreneurial ecosystem of MSEs.

BRICS: Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa

CSV: Comma Separated Value

DESA: Department of Economic and Social Affairs

GDP: Gross Domestic Production

MDG: Millennium Development Goals

MSEs: Micro and Small Enterprises

VOS: Visualization of Similarities

Availability of Data

Available upon request

Funding

The study is solely done by the authors. There was no funding for the study

Authors Contributions

Both the authors contributed, read and approved the final subscript.

Competing interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests

Acknowledgements

Not applicable

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Graphs 1 and 2 are available in Supplementary Files section.

Graph1.png
Graph 1: Number of Publications and citations by year Source: Compiled from Dimensions database March 23, 2022, 6:30 PM
Graph2.png
Graph 2: Country's Collaboration in Producing Documents Source: Compiled from Dimensions database March 23, 2022, 6:30 PM

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You are reading this latest preprint version

Entrepreneurial Ecosystem of Micro and Small Enterprises: A Bibliometric Analysis

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Version 1

Abstract

Figures

1. Introduction

2. Background Literature

3. Method

4. Findings And Discussions

4.1 Number of Documents and Citation since 2013

4.2 Countries Contributed to the Documents

4.3 Most Cited Journals and articles in the Area

4.4 Intellectual Structure of Knowledge in the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem of MSEs

4.5 Nature of collaboration

5. Conclusions And Implications

6. Overall Contribution And Future Direction

Abbreviations

Declarations

References

Graph

Supplementary Files

Status:

Version 1