Mapping research in the field of private equity: a bibliometric analysis

Owing to the sheer volume of research that has been done in the field of private equity (PE) in the last decade it may be pertinent to mention that PE studies became the focal point of much corporate finance and socio-economic studies. PE capital is a preferred source of investment where high net worth individuals and firms purchase a stake in private companies to gain a significant influence over a company's operations and earn returns before exiting the firm. The paper consolidates and synthesizes existing findings which shoot from the studies of PE and PE performance, develop thematic maps, clusters and propose some novel future research opportunities in this globally pervasive area. The themes that are highly researched indicate that there is a negligible shift in research in PE towards a more multidisciplinary front. The boundaries are still limited to finance, entrepreneurship, and governance studies. While the existence of performance studies in these researches hold a potential significance, the authors cannot undermine the substantial interest of researchers to investigate the impact of PE on performance, cashflows, liquidity, and leveraged buyout as the preferred source of financing to PE firms. Emerging topics include the effect of corporate governance (including triple bottom approach), environmental and social sustainability on the performance of PE firms, sectoral analysis of PE in various sectors like real estate, banking, information technology. Areas related to the valuation of PE firms via management buyouts and free cash flow still deserve greater attention. Emerging themes like effect of private equity on employment level, private equity exits and sustainable private equity have been suggested. The study would help academic researchers and policymakers to know the intricacies of PE and identify relevant areas which need investigation.