Mapping Sustainable Business Research from 2015 to 2025 Using Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

This study provides a bibliometric overview of sustainable business research published between 2015 and 2025. Bibliographic data were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection and included English-language articles and review articles. Following data screening and cleaning, 4,317 publications were retained for analysis. Performance indicators were combined with science mapping techniques using VOSviewer to examine publication growth, influential contributors, international collaboration, thematic structure, and emerging research topics. Scientific production increased continuously from 128 publications in 2015 to 831 publications in 2025, with nearly seventy percent of the documents published during the final five years of the period. China recorded the largest publication output, while England displayed the strongest overall international collaboration. The country co-authorship network included 51 countries organized into five clusters. Keyword co-occurrence analysis identified 260 terms grouped into five interconnected thematic clusters addressing organizational performance, corporate responsibility and governance, technological transformation, sustainable business model innovation, and organizational capabilities. The temporal analysis revealed growing attention to environmental, social, and governance practices, disclosure, digital transformation, dynamic capabilities, and small and medium-sized enterprises. The findings demonstrate that sustainable business has developed into a rapidly expanding and internationally connected research field that increasingly integrates strategic, technological, environmental, and organizational perspectives.