Mapping University-Led Environmental Citizenship and Its Implications for Sustainable Entrepreneurship: A Bibliometric Analysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53555/jaes.v21i3.124Keywords:
environmental citizenship, sustainable entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial ecosystems, SME development, bibliometric analysisAbstract
Universities are increasingly expected to promote environmental values and civic responsibility while also serving as anchors of innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystems. Yet, research on university-led environmental citizenship and sustainability-oriented entrepreneurship has largely developed in parallel, limiting clarity on how citizenship-based values translate into entrepreneurial outcomes. This study maps the evolution and intellectual structure of university-led environmental citizenship scholarship and evaluates how far it engages with sustainability-oriented entrepreneurship, innovation, and SME development. A longitudinal bibliometric analysis was conducted on 98 peer-reviewed journal articles and review papers indexed in Scopus from 1985–2025. Using performance analysis and science-mapping techniques (co-authorship, co-citation, keyword co-occurrence, and thematic evolution), the study identifies publication trends, influential contributors, collaboration patterns, and dominant thematic clusters. Findings show three phases of development, with rapid expansion after 2011. The field is primarily anchored in environmental science and education, with a cohesive conceptual core around environmental/ecological citizenship, sustainability education, pro-environmental behaviour, and identity-based determinants. However, entrepreneurship-, innovation-, and economic transformation-related themes remain peripheral within dominant clusters. The results position environmental citizenship as an underutilised institutional foundation for sustainable entrepreneurship. Sustainability-oriented innovation and SME/start-up development can be strengthened by combining citizenship programs with entrepreneurship education and university incubation. This is especially important for Asian and emerging economies, where universities influence local entrepreneurial ecosystems.
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