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Analyzing Informal Entrepreneurship: A Bibliometric Survey

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  • EUNICE MARIA M. N. DOS SANTOS

    (Management and Economics Department, University of Beira Interior, Estrada do Sineiro, Polo IV 6200 Covilhã, Portugal)

  • JOÃO J. FERREIRA

    (Management and Economics Department & NECE — Research Unit in Business Sciences, University of Beira Interior Estrada do Sineiro, Polo IV 6200 Covilhã, Portugal)

Abstract

This study involves the analysis of the scientific outputs on informal entrepreneurship (IE hereafter) over the period from 1990 to 2016. We deploy a combination of bibliometric techniques such as citations, bibliographic coupling as well as approaching the social networks established. We sourced the contents thus analyzed from the online Thomson/Reuters-ISI database and the online Scopus database run by the Elsevier Publishing Company, which returned a total of 44 and 95 publications for analysis, respectively. From among the 139 articles analyzed, the journals Entrepreneurship and Regional Development and Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship stand out as the publishers of the largest number of articles. We encounter studies on IE in developing countries as a low-income activity that contributes to the economic development of the region. The motivations and the determinants of informality are common to the majority of the scientific outputs and effectively serving as the analytical basis either for arguing in favor of the formalization of the business. Another aspect present in the literature interrelates IE with the quality of governance and economic liberalization. This analysis facet ensures IE gains in scientific profile within the ongoing context of discussions over neoliberalism and its effects on the world economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Eunice Maria M. N. Dos Santos & João J. Ferreira, 2017. "Analyzing Informal Entrepreneurship: A Bibliometric Survey," Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship (JDE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 22(04), pages 1-20, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:wsi:jdexxx:v:22:y:2017:i:04:n:s1084946717500224
    DOI: 10.1142/S1084946717500224
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