Uncovering the trends and developments in subscription business models through bibliometric analysis

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the trends and developments of subscription business models (SBMs) over the past two decades. Design/methodology/approach The study extracted 469 documents (articles and reviews) from the Scopus database during 2000–2022 and analysed 132 documents (articles and reviews). A bibliometric methodology of scientific mapping was employed, including a cluster analysis based on the bibliographic coupling of documents. Content analysis was also conducted to reveal emerging trends in SBMs. Findings The study revealed six emerging themes in SBMs related to consumer behaviour, digital advertising, online news media, journal publications, circular economy and sustainability strategies. Originality/value The results of this study provide new and unique insights into the development and trends of SBMs over the past two decades and offer guidance for future researchers to investigate further the phenomenon of SBMs in emerging areas.