Research fronts of international entrepreneurship education in the visual threshold of knowmetrics

摘要

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to conduct qualitative research for research fronts of international entrepreneurship education, based on quantitative analysis for visualization mapping in a new research perspective, to make a study platform in the field of international entrepreneurship education. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 2,000 bibliographic data in the field of international entrepreneurship education were retrieved from Science Citation Index-Expanded (SCI-E) and Social Science Citation Index (SSCI), which are Journal Citation Index databases in Web of Science (WOS), for the period 1945 to 2010. Having combined quantitative analysis with qualitative thinking, the international emerging CiteSpace software and visualization method were adopted for processing bibliographic data and drawing knowledge mapping. Findings – The authors conclude that for more than half a century, the research fronts of international entrepreneurship education have focused on Holland theory; entrepreneurial self-efficacy, role modeling and start-up business performance; historical examination and application of entrepreneurship education; entrepreneurship education pedagogy, discipline and program; occupational aspiration and choice; high-school career education, social-cognitive variable and self-efficacy treatment; distance education course and career planning; educational productivity; career advancement and maturity. Originality/value – The bibliographic data and visualization method ensure the originality of this paper, which contributes to develop a new research perspective and study platform in the field of international entrepreneurship education. Furthermore, research directions and academic clues have been provided for teaching and research staff engaged in entrepreneurship education in China.