Five decades of business research into exporting: A bibliographic analysis

Although exporting has established itself as an important field of research within the overall international business discipline, no attempt has yet been made to provide a bibliographic analysis showing how the subject has evolved over time. This article reports the findings of a study which provides a systematic analysis of the content of 821 export business-related articles published in 75 academic journals during the period 1960-2007. The analysis focuses on five major areas: characteristics of authors involved in exporting research; major contributors of exporting publications based on their productivity; characteristics of manuscripts published on exporting; exporting articles with the greatest impact in the field; and specific themes that exporting research has covered over time. The outcome of this analysis revealed that exporting literature has experienced a phenomenal advancement during the last five decades, characterized by continuous refinement, improved quality, and extensive topical coverage. Some guidelines for potential future research on the subject are provided. (c) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.