Bibliometric analysis of alternative financing for entrepreneurship

Abstract

One of the main limitations of entrepreneurship is access to finance, especially in the early stages. Over the years, new sources of finance have evolved to respond to this need and provide new options for entrepreneurs. Using a bibliometric analysis, this paper examines the evolution of the academic literature and analyses the relationship between entrepreneurship and alternative financing over three periods of time (1975-1999, 2000-2010, and 2011-2020). This work aims to provide a clearer view of the evolution of this relationship and identifies current trends and future lines of research. The data were obtained from the Web of Science (WOS) database and systematized using SciMAT software. Results show that venture capital and business angels have become the main financing sources for entrepreneurs, being the most studied from different approaches, especially since 2000. Incubators in universities and research centers, corporate governance, and development of this type of financing in emerging countries are emerging as potential areas for further research in this field.