Title: Mapping the trends and themes of global sourcing research using bibliometric analysis

Authors: Shalini Singh

Addresses: School of Business, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, 248007, India

Abstract: Global sourcing is at its rampant stage and enabling companies to attain a competitive advantage. Noteworthy research developed in global sourcing reveals versatile trends and concepts. This paper aims to analyse relevant past research done in the global sourcing area. To identify the trends and themes of global sourcing research using bibliometric and content analysis. This technique has been applied using the Biblioshiny of Bibliometrix package of R Studio on the Scopus data of 825 papers published between the years 1981 to 2024. Results indicate the elaboration of bibliographic information and relevant content of the retrieved data. Results obtained from this study are visualised in the form of bibliographic coupling, cooccurrence, co-citation, collaboration, trends analysis, and thematic evolution. This study provides comprehensive knowledge of the research of global sourcing and provides significant implications for both researchers and practitioners. This study adds value by elaborating bibliographic data of global sourcing research.

Keywords: sourcing; globalisation; bibliometric review; content analysis; thematic evaluation; trends analysis.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTGM.2025.151475

International Journal of Trade and Global Markets, 2025 Vol.21 No.6, pp.672 - 695

Received: 03 Jan 2025
Accepted: 29 Oct 2025
Published online: 02 Feb 2026 *

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