A Scientometric Review of Complex Supply Networks Based on Citespace

Abstract

Although an increasing number of papers have been published in complex supply networks, an extensive review of this field is unavailable. This study aims to address this gap by reviewing 474 articles published in peer-reviewed journals from 1991 to 2019 using CiteSpace to verify recent developments and clue future areas of complex supply networks. This work shows that the contributions are geographically and institutionally distinct, with the USA and Islamic Azad University the key regions performing such research. Also, in terms of citation frequency, the International Journal of Production Economics has the highest contribution in publication. The author and institution citation networks are fragmented, while cross-national cooperation occurs in communities. Four stages of the evolution of research hotspots can be identified: initial phase (1991-2004), slow developing phase (2005-2010), rapid developing phase (2011-2014), and research specialization phase (2015-2019). A timeline visualization of keywords co-occurrence networks includes 6 clusters that were developed. Meanwhile, keyword bursts analysis showed that the research frontier mainly focused on complex adaptive supply networks. The findings of this study can provide useful references for the future exploration of complex supply networks.