Environmental Management and Environmental Performance: A Bibliometric Review Study and Visualization Analysis

For more than four decades, environmental management and environmental performance have attracted growing interest from academic scholars, students, and institutions worldwide. The emergent field has been rapidly evolving with geometric growth in the number of academic publications. However, there is a certain haze that manifests itself at the level of the orientation of researchers in this line of research. The aim of the study is to map the thematic structure of environmental management and environmental performance research by mapping research outputs related to it as well as evaluating it from the perspective of the all-encompassing scientific literature. To achieve this aim, an establishment of the state-of-the-art the most relevant research was conducted. The databases used were Scopus and Web of Science database, the bibliometric analysis supported by literature review was conducted. After that, using rigorous bibliometric tools, established and emerging research clusters are identified for topological analysis, identification of key research topics, interrelations, and collaboration patterns. This systematic mapping of the field helps graphically illustrate the publication's evolution over time and identify areas of current research interests and potential directions for future research. The results reveal not only the state of the art and the leading trends, but also the evolution regarding number of research, impact, topics, and countries, the study provides researchers and practicians with a visual and semantic frame and research on this topic. The paper contributes both to theory and practice, the findings provide a robust roadmap for further research related to this field.