A Bibliometric Review of Entrepreneurship Research in the Financial Sector: Trends, Themes, and Global Collaboration

Abstract

In today’s digital economy, entrepreneurship in the financial services sector plays an increasingly vital role in fostering inclusive growth, empowering micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and expanding access to financial services. This study conducts a bibliometric analysis of 989 publications indexed in the Web of Science (WoS) from 1997 to 2025 to map the evolution, patterns, and thematic structure of academic literature in this domain. The results reveal a significant growth in publication volume, with an annual growth rate of 17.66%, reflecting rising scholarly interest in topics such as fintech innovation, microfinance, and financial inclusion. Using the Bibliometrix package in R, this study identifies the most influential authors, journals, and countries—highlighting the dominance of the United States and China in terms of productivity, with Sustainability and Small Business Economics emerging as the most prolific journals. Conceptual structures, analyzed through thematic mapping and keyword co-occurrence, demonstrate a shift in research focus from traditional themes like microfinance and poverty alleviation toward contemporary issues such as digital finance and entrepreneurial technologies. Despite the rapid expansion of literature, a substantial gap remains in developing an integrated framework that encompasses diverse forms of financial entrepreneurship—including cooperatives, fintech, Islamic microfinance, and hybrid models—across institutional, social, and community dimensions. This study provides a comprehensive mapping of the scholarly landscape and offers future research directions that emphasize cross-disciplinary collaboration, regulatory responsiveness, and the socio-economic impacts of financial entrepreneurship. The findings serve as a critical reference for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners in developing an inclusive and sustainable financial entrepreneurship ecosystem.