The Intersection of Circular Economy and Social Innovation: A Bibliometric Analysis and Future Research Directions

Purpose: Focused on the intersection between Circular Economy and Social Innovation, this research aims to untapped the role of social innovations in the field of circular economy to discover the current research state, themes, and future research directions. Methodology: According to the defined research protocol, relevant research terms were examined through Scopus, with no restriction of time and data, which led to including 333 articles in the sample. The descriptive and co citation analyses discovered productive nodes of literature. The keyword co-occurrence technique identified four thematic clusters through the intersection of both concepts. Findings: The analysis discovered that the topic is an emerging research field that has grown exponentially over the last decade. This study uncovers the structure and intellectual base of research by employing various bibliometric techniques. Managerial implications: The present study addresses not only the academic community but also policymakers in an effort to boost the circular economy through social practices. The study has developed to obtain further understanding and future research. Research limitations: Our study has the limitation of a single database, which is inevitably influenced by our selection of keywords. Originality: The circular economy is not examined through social innovation by utilising bibliometric analysis.