Value of special issues in the journal of business research: A bibliometric analysis

Journal of Business Research (JBR) is a leading peer-reviewed scientific outlet that publishes theories highly relevant to practical business applications. Our study aims to explicate the knowledge creation dynamics (structure and networks) of JBR special issues (SIs) and regular issues (RIs) between 1973 and 2020. Applying bibliometrics, we examine the knowledge structure of JBR SIs by identifying their highly cited publications, prolific authors, and affiliations. In addition, using co-authorship, co-citation, and bibliographic coupling analyses, we investigate the knowledge structures prevailing among the sources citing JBR, its contributing authors, and their affiliations. Our findings indicate that the most prolific authors have US affiliations and that JBR has stronger ties with other leading marketing and management journals, such as the Journal of Marketing, the Journal of Consumer Research, the Journal of Marketing Research, Strategic Management Journal, and Industrial Marketing Management. Bibliographic coupling groups the JBR SI publications into seven clusters identified as consumer behavior of emerging technologies, organizational resources and networks, dynamics of consumer power in marketing, measurement issues, globalization of marketing, future-oriented strategies and tools, and market relationships. Finally, a comparison of JBR SIs with RIs highlights scholarship from more countries with a focus on evolving and current topics.