The theoretical foundations of entrepreneurship education: How co-citations are shaping the field

Abstract

This article develops a co-citation analysis covering the period 1991–2014 outlining the collective logic of authors conducting studies of entrepreneurship education. The core themes, major contributions and topological features characterising their relationships are identified. The findings indicate that the field has a polycentric structure with five core themes of which entrepreneurial intentions emerges as the most influential while the entrepreneurial learning and evaluation themes have emerged in recent years. These two core themes appear to foster changes within the current structure with the introduction of new theoretical inputs and the formation of new theoretical hubs. We argue that future research should attempt to organise focal themes into a theoretical framework that allows a comprehensive picture of entrepreneurship education.