Trends in public procurement and innovation: a bibliometric analysis and future research agenda

Purpose In recent years, there has been a growing academic interest in incorporating innovation into the public procurement practices. Nevertheless, a noticeable scarcity of current bibliometric studies in this particular field exists. To fill this gap, the study analyzes trends in public procurement and innovation. Design/methodology/approach The study conducts a bibliometric analysis on data from 354 journal articles and reviews retrieved from the Scopus database. Specifically, performance analysis was conducted to gain an overview of the field in terms of research productivity, while science mapping was performed to analyze the relationship networks between concepts through co-word analysis. Findings The initial part of the analysis focused on publication trends and compiled a list of the most influential journals that delve into the field. Generally, the findings indicate an increase in research on public procurement and innovation since 2012, despite fluctuations in the number of publications over the years. The geographical distribution highlighted that countries from Europe have been the most prolific contributors to this field, with limited representation of developing countries especially from Africa. A co-word analysis through VOSviewer identified 11 key clusters that present relevant knowledge themes and future research agenda in the field. The themes revolve around aspects such as sustiainability, development strategies, efficiency in construction industry, societal and regional development, small and medium-sized enterprises' involvement, sustainable public procurement, and tendering. Originality/value This study contributes to the body of knowledge by uniquely presenting the trends on publications related to public procurement and innovation, considering recent developments in the field. It identifies key research themes and delves into the identified clusters, concluding with a discussion on potential avenues for future research.