Contribution of innovation studies to the intellectual structure of the hospitality and tourism literature

Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to identify the role of innovation research in formulating the intellectual structure of the hospitality and tourism literature by performing a bibliometric analysis. Design/methodology/approach: In total, 6,255 journal articles on innovation were gathered from Scopus and analyzed using co-citation, bibliographic coupling and thematic content analyses. The most influential articles were also carefully read to reveal a nomological network of innovation research in hospitality and tourism scholarship. Findings: Co-citation analysis reveals that there are six significant clusters in the field of innovation research. Various philosophical underpinnings might be used in different circumstances, with actor-network and Schumpeterian theory playing significant roles. A review of current works using bibliographic coupling reveals five interesting emerging research areas and makes numerous recommendations for when to conduct more studies. A review of influential articles displayed differences between the co-citation and bibliographic coupling analysis findings and produced a framework for further investigation of the knowledge field. Originality/value: This paper is among the first integrative reviews on innovation research in hospitality and tourism by quantitatively reviewing published articles and qualitatively reviewing the content of the most influential studies.