The drivers of female entrepreneurship: A bibliometric analysis of the literature

Abstract

Background: Female entrepreneurship has emerged as a rapidly expanding area of research over the past two decades. However, there remains a lack of comprehensive bibliometric analyses focusing on its drivers.
Aim: This study aims to systematically map the literature on female entrepreneurship, to identify and analyse the key drivers that motivate women to engage in entrepreneurial activities.
Setting: The research analyses scholarly works published between 1987 and 2024 to uncover critical patterns and contributions in female entrepreneurship.
Methods: In this bibliometric analysis, we used the Biblioshiny-R-based bibliometric tool to map 924 documents from the Web of Science database. The analysis includes not only performance analysis but also science mapping techniques such as co-citation networks, historiographic mapping, and thematic mapping to uncover the literature’s intellectual, social, and conceptual structures.
Results: The findings reveal significant themes driving female entrepreneurship, including socio-cultural, financial, and personal factors. Influential contributors, journals, and regions, alongside critical gaps, emerging trends, and the field’s evolution, are identified. The role of artificial intelligence with other underexplored topics should be the future research agenda.
Conclusion: The study provides a holistic understanding of the drivers of female entrepreneurship, offering actionable insights for research and practice. The findings are significant for creating supportive ecosystems and developing educational frameworks that empower female entrepreneurs.
Contribution: The study contributes to female entrepreneurship literature by systematically analysing and mapping the drivers of female entrepreneurial activity, aligning closely with the Sustainable Development Goals and pursuing gender equity.