Firms’ internationalization through clusters: A keywords bibliometric analysis of 152 top publications in the period 2009-2018

While countless studies on the role of clusters in regional economic developments and business performance have been done, some disadvantages and limitations also have been identified. Limitations such as small local markets, limited resources, isolation, and over-independence which lead companies to a lock-in state regarding knowledge and innovation can be solved by means of internationalization or foreign market expansion. Therefore, the internationalization of clusters still needs more attention. Furthermore, by conducting a bibliometric study based on the keywords from previous research, this investigation intends to identify the principal and most influential items, their relationship, and evolution, related to this topic. This work listed the top 30 journals based on SCImago Rank (SJR) in the category of Marketing, Management, and Internationalization, to select authoritative papers on the topic of internationalization of clusters. Based on the title, time of publication (2009 to 2018), and content, 152 articles were selected. Using SciMAT software, all 584 keywords used in these articles were first categorized and then examined in terms of the networks between them, their h-index, centrality, density, and their evolution over the course of ten years (divided into two five-year periods). The results show that in the first five years, keywords such as, Network, Location-distance, and Global, have been at the core of this research topic. While in the second five year period, these keywords have yielded their position to new subjects such as Social capital, Cluster-type, and Development. Moreover, this research correspondingly confirms that the keyword bibliometric analysis produces similar results to a quantitative content analysis. These results therefore open the door to updated research questions for further and better development of the topic.