Public Sector Entrepreneurship: Scientific Mapping and Research Agenda

Abstract

Background and Purpose: The concept of entrepreneurship within the public sector is one of the most fiercely debated areas of entrepreneurial research. It has been studied across several academic disciplines such as in management, public administration and political economy, among others. However, while academic output has increased, we found no prior studies providing a clear mapping of the field. Therefore, this research sought to comprehensively examine all peer reviewed articles on public sector entrepreneurship.
Methods: Using the Scopus scientific database, our analysis included 133 articles from 1982 to 2022. Following a thorough manual review process, we used VOSviewer to provide a mapping of the field, before identifying research gaps and suggesting directions for future research. Our scientific mapping revealed the leading and emerging thematic clusters in the field.
Results: Our results revealed that the leading themes in public sector entrepreneurship include innovation, entrepreneurship, public sector, governance, reinventing government, and public organisations, while emerging trends include public health entrepreneurship, public health innovation, public choice, sustainability, and entrepreneurial orientation, among others.
Conclusion: Our research provides useful insights to all researchers interested in examining entrepreneurship within the public sector or in non-profit organisations.

Keywords: Public entrepreneurship, Public innovation, Bibliometrics, Public sector, Scientific mapping, Performance, entrepreneur