Comprehensive metrological and content analysis of the public–private partnerships (PPPs) research field: a new bibliometric journey

Studies around public–private partnerships (PPPs) have shaped a complex and colorful research field. A series of review studies have been performed to explore the knowledge base of this field. Despite their significant contributions, bibliometric research on the PPPs literature is still needed to capture more comprehensive, diverse and detailed information in this area from a holistic perspective, for reducing subjectivity and one-sidedness. Under this situation, this paper continues the bibliometric journey by conducting a comprehensive metrological and content analysis of the PPPs research field. By applying a newly developed Bibliometrix R-package tool, the overview of PPPs research is presented via metrological analysis using a series of indexes. The intellectual structure of this domain is then explored via content analysis using the methods of keywords analysis and citation analysis from both static and dynamic perspectives. Consequently, the panoramic view including the overview, pivotal points of topics, thematic evolution and research focuses of this domain are depicted visually and intuitively via a set of science maps. This new attempt crystallizes out key findings and valuable information of PPPs research, which can consolidate and broaden the bibliometric findings of previous PPPs literature studies and act as a guidance for analyzing the knowledge base of other research fields.

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