Mapping the research landscape of small and medium enterprises in the green economy: A decade of systematic analysis (2014-2024)

Stephen Bishibura Erick; Twalibu Bella; David Ngutunyi

doi:10.51867/ajernet.7.1.68

Authors

Stephen Bishibura Erick Institute of Rural Development Planning, Tanzania https://orcid.org/0009-0007-1400-9734
Twalibu Bella Institute of Rural Development Planning, Tanzania https://orcid.org/0009-0008-6205-3622
David Ngutunyi Institute of Rural Development Planning, Tanzania https://orcid.org/0009-0001-9776-9013

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51867/ajernet.7.1.68

Keywords:

Circular Economy, Digital Transformation, Green Economy, Green Innovation, Small and Medium Enterprises

Abstract

The transition toward a green economy represents a fundamental restructuring of production and consumption systems, with small and medium enterprises (SMEs) positioned as critical agents in this transformation. Despite growing scholarly attention to this nexus, comprehensive bibliometric analyses mapping the intellectual landscape remain limited. Drawing on bibliographic data from the Scopus and Google Scholar databases, this study presents a systematic bibliometric analysis of 851 documents on SMEs and the green economy published between 2014 and 2024, employing VOSviewer for network visualization and biblioshiny for thematic evolution mapping. The analysis reveals exponential growth in publications from 13 documents in 2014 to 223 in 2024, representing a compound annual growth rate of 33%. Geographic analysis identifies China (411 documents), the United Kingdom (251), and Italy (184) as leading contributors. Keyword co-occurrence analysis identifies five dominant thematic clusters: (1) green innovation and eco-innovation, (2) circular economy adoption, (3) digital transformation for sustainability, (4) green supply chain management, and (5) sustainable performance measurement. Trend topic analysis reveals evolutionary shifts from foundational manufacturing concepts (2014-2018) toward innovation-driven sustainability and digital transformation themes (2022–2024). The study identifies critical research gaps including limited investigation of green finance mechanisms, underrepresentation of developing economy contexts, and insufficient policy-practice integration frameworks. This comprehensive intellectual mapping provides strategic guidance for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners engaged in advancing SME contributions to sustainable economic transitions.

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