Major Trends in Knowledge Management Research: A Bibliometric Study

Scientometrics, vol. 107, no. 3, pp. 1249-1264, June, 2016.

24 Pages Posted: 17 May 2016

See all articles by Peyman Akhavan

Peyman Akhavan

Malek Ashtar University of Technology

Nader Ale Ebrahim

Research and Technology Department, Alzahra University, Vanak, Tehran, Iran, Postcode: 19938 93973; Centre for Research Services, Institute of Management and Research Services (IPPP), University of Malaya (UM); University of Malaya (UM) - Department of Engineering Design and Manufacture

Mahdieh A. Fetrati

Aalborg University - Department of Business and Management

Amir Pezeshkan

University of Baltimore

Date Written: June 1, 2016

Abstract

This study provides an overview of the knowledge management literature from 1980 through 2014. We employ bibliometric and text mining analyses on a sample of 500 most cited articles to examine the impact of factors such as number of authors, references, pages, and keywords on the number of citations that they received. We also investigate major trends in knowledge management literature including the contribution of different countries, variations across publication years, and identifying active research areas and major journal outlets. Our study serves as a resource for future studies by shedding light on how trends in knowledge management research have evolved over time and demonstrating the characteristics of the most cited articles in this literature. Specifically, our results reveal that the most cited articles are from United States and United Kingdom. The most prolific year in terms of the number of published articles is 2009 and in terms of the number of citations is 2012. We also found a positive relationship between the number of publications’ keywords, references, and pages and the number of citations that they have received. Finally, the Journal of Knowledge Management has the largest share in publishing the most cited articles in this field.

Keywords: Bibliometric; Citation analysis; Knowledge management; Research productivity

JEL Classification: L1, L11, L7, M11, M12, M1, M54, Q1, O1, O3, Q31, Q32, P24, P42, P29, L17

Suggested Citation

Akhavan, Peyman and Ale Ebrahim, Nader and Fetrati, Mahdieh A. and Pezeshkan, Amir, Major Trends in Knowledge Management Research: A Bibliometric Study (June 1, 2016). Scientometrics, vol. 107, no. 3, pp. 1249-1264, June, 2016., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2780741

Peyman Akhavan

Malek Ashtar University of Technology ( email )

Daneshgah Blvd
Tehran, Shahin Shahr 15878
Iran

Nader Ale Ebrahim (Contact Author)

Research and Technology Department, Alzahra University, Vanak, Tehran, Iran, Postcode: 19938 93973 ( email )

Iran

Centre for Research Services, Institute of Management and Research Services (IPPP), University of Malaya (UM) ( email )

Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan 50603
University of Malaya (UM)
Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan 50603
Malaysia

HOME PAGE: http://https://umresearch.um.edu.my/

University of Malaya (UM) - Department of Engineering Design and Manufacture ( email )

Kuala Lumpur, 50603
Malaysia

Mahdieh A. Fetrati

Aalborg University - Department of Business and Management ( email )

Aalborg, DK-9220
Denmark

Amir Pezeshkan

University of Baltimore ( email )

1420 N. Charles Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
United States

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