The scientometric analysis and visualization of sustainable procurement

Abstract

Sustainable procurement has emerged as a crucial strategy to address environmental and social challenges while promoting responsible sourcing and procurement practices. This research presents a comprehensive scientometric analysis and visualization of 1044 publications from 1997 to July 2023 through a co-author, co-word, and co-citation analysis on sustainable procurement from the Scopus core collection database using VOSviewer and Gephi software. Prominent research areas include green procurement, sustainable procurement, sustainability, procurement, and supply chain. Leading institutions are the University of Southern Denmark, European Business School (EBS) University, Germany and the University of Louvain, Belgium, with the United Kingdom, United States, and China as citation leaders. The Top sustainable procurement outlets are the Journal of Cleaner Production, the International Journal of Production Economics, the Journal of Business Ethics, Sustainability, and Supply Chain Management. By providing a holistic overview of the sustainable procurement research landscape, this study contributes to evidence-based decision-making and fosters a collaborative approach towards achieving a more sustainable and socially responsible world essential for facilitating sustainability efforts. The findings serve as a foundation for future research and policy development, facilitating knowledge exchange and driving positive change in procurement practices.