A bibliometric exploration of environmental sustainability in supply chain research

Abstract

This study undertakes a bibliometric examination of the literature on supply chain sustainability (SCS). The analysis includes exploring co-authorship, examining keyword co-occurrences, conducting citation analysis, bibliographic coupling, co-citation analysis for performance evaluation, and employing science mapping techniques. The paper thus explores the significant facets of the literature on SCS. We studied the literature on SCS management from 1996 to 2024 and extracted 6898 articles retrieved from the Scopus database. In the preliminary phase, the investigation employs the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) flow methodology alongside a designated search strategy. Secondly, it employs Biblioshiny, an RStudio package, and VOSviewer. The study finds that the SCS field has evolved with a major focus on collaboration, innovation, and sustainability. Furthermore, the findings indicate that China, the USA, the UK, and India lead in research contributions, emphasizing the importance of international collaboration. Additionally, the findings signpost that technology such as blockchain enhances sustainability efforts. Social sustainability also gains recognition alongside environmental concerns. These findings can inform researchers, highlighting the need for international cooperation, technology integration, and emphasis on social sustainability in advancing the management of supply chains. This study makes novel contributions by providing global coverage of publications, adopting an inclusive approach encompassing case studies and empirical research articles, addressing social desirability bias by reporting positive as well as negative aspects of sustainability in supply chain practices, and identifying alternative areas for future research within the discipline.