Contribution of innovation studies to the intellectual structure of the hospitality and tourism literature

Purpose This study aims to identify the role of innovation research in formulating the intellectual structure of the hospitality and tourism literature by performing a bibliometric analysis. Design/methodology/approach In total, 6,255 journal articles on innovation were gathered from Scopus and analyzed using co-citation, bibliographic coupling and thematic content analyses. The most influential articles were also carefully read to reveal a nomological network of innovation research in hospitality and tourism scholarship. Findings Co-citation analysis reveals that there are six significant clusters in the field of innovation research. Various philosophical underpinnings might be used in different circumstances, with actor-network and Schumpeterian theory playing significant roles. A review of current works using bibliographic coupling reveals five interesting emerging research areas and makes numerous recommendations for when to conduct more studies. A review of influential articles displayed differences between the co-citation and bibliographic coupling analysis findings and produced a framework for further investigation of the knowledge field. Originality/value This paper is among the first integrative reviews on innovation research in hospitality and tourism by quantitatively reviewing published articles and qualitatively reviewing the content of the most influential studies.