Two Decades of Sustainability in Agricultural Supply Chains: A Bibliometric Mapping and Intellectual Structure Analysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18041/2619-4465/interfaces.2.13621Keywords:
Agricultural supply chains, sustainability, Bibliometric analysis, Science mapping, Digital traceabilityAbstract
Sustainability has become an organizing principle in agricultural supply chains; however, the rapid
growth of the literature has not necessarily translated into cumulative theoretical advancement. The
field has expanded into partially disconnected subcommunities—optimization modeling, digital
traceability, organizational management, and environmental assessment—with limited integration of
governance mechanisms and distributive outcomes. This article analyzes the intellectual structure,
thematic evolution, and research fronts of sustainability studies in agricultural supply chains over the
past two decades to identify dominant trajectories and persistent gaps. Drawing on a bibliometric and
science mapping approach, Scopus and Web of Science were systematically integrated through a
PRISMA protocol and a reproducible search equation, resulting in a consolidated corpus of 763
documents (1999–2026). Performance analysis was conducted using Bibliometrix/Biblioshiny, while
relational mapping (co-occurrence, collaboration, and bibliographic coupling) was performed with
VOSviewer. Findings reveal a marked acceleration after 2015 and an intensified expansion between
2020 and 2025, high source dispersion with editorial concentration in hub journals, and a thematic
architecture structured around a central sustainability cluster linking four major domains:
modeling/optimization, digital traceability, organizational management, and environmental risk
assessment. The study contributes an integrated cross-database cartography that delineates the mesostructure
of the field and highlights gaps in governance, power dynamics, justice, and effective
technology adoption. Managerially and from a policy perspective, it informs research priorities
toward inter-actor coordination, verifiable implementation, and territorial sustainability. Its
originality lies in combining WoS–Scopus integration with interpretive mapping to assess thematic
maturity and emerging research boundaries.
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