Reviewing the intellectual structure and evolution of the innovation systems approach: A social network analysis

Abstract The increased attention of policymakers and researchers to the concept of innovation systems in recent decades has led to an increase in studies in this field and, consequently, its dynamics. This increase in the number of studies indicates the necessity of conducting studies to delineate the intellectual structure and process of development and evolution of this field. The present study aims to present a picture of the structure, evolution, and dynamics of innovation systems through the analysis of academic social networks based on bibliometric criteria and identify emerging issues for research. Accordingly, using citation, word co-occurrence, co-citation, and bibliographic coupling analyses, we analyzed 3250 documents which had been published between 1988 and 2018 and extracted from the Web of Science database. Through a systematic review, theoretical roots and frameworks affecting this field were identified and the existing research streams were introduced. According to the analyses, historical and contemporary views were categorized into four clusters. In addition, the most important and emerging issues in this field were identified and the most influential documents, journals, and authors were introduced.