Two-decade bibliometric overview of publications in the Journal of Knowledge Management

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to accomplish a bibliometric analysis, investigate the underlying knowledge structure, founding and development, and evolution of the Journal of Knowledge Management (JKM) through its articles published between 1997 and 2020. Design/methodology/approach A total of 1,346 research papers from JKM were selected and VantagePoint(R) software was used to generate bubble maps, auto-correlation maps, and matrix maps through techniques such as principal component analysis (PCA) and natural language processing (NLP). The analysis gives insights about the foundation of knowledge structure, its evolution and the development of JKM. Findings The systematic mapping of research illustrates topics emerging as new offshoots, global favourites, saturated and plateaued and reached academic maturity. The USA, the UK, Australia, Spain, Italy, China, Canada, Germany, and France have contributed the most to JKM. This paper provides a robust roadmap for future research investigation of JKM. Research limitations/implications The authors humbly admit the possibility of overlooking some research papers while evaluating and filtering the database of JKM. The research outcome summarizes 23 years, subject to information retrieval from archival files. Practical implications This research is a detailed bibliometric analysis explaining paradigm shifts in the body of knowledge of JKM. The bibliometric outcomes can act as beacons for future researchers and academicians to revisit the current trends that shape the domain of knowledge management, particularly for the JKM audience with a focus on contemporary topics of research interest. Originality/value This is a unique endeavour to accomplish a systematic bibliometric analysis of the JKM for two decades, offering insights about its structural body of knowledge through an overview of the chronology of scholarly development in the field of knowledge management.