Identifying trends and research gaps in ESCO research: A systematic literature review

Growing research interests in energy service companies (ESCOs) has led to an increase in published research spanning the past decade. However, attempts to map global ESCO-related research have been sparse. The aim of this paper is to map the trends in ESCO, to appraise the state of the field in global ESCO research, and to identify current research gaps. This is achieved by conducting a systematic literature review and qualitative analysis of recently published research papers. The study uses bibliographic, co-citation, and keyword analysis to identify recent trends in global ESCO research. The results show that the aspects of ESCO that most studies have focused on are business models, market development, barriers, and drivers of ESCO, stakeholders in ESCO, energy performance contracts, and risk management in ESCO. In addition, the study identifies two main research gaps in ESCO research. These are public-private partnerships in ESCO programs and the development of a harmonised measurement and verification method for energy savings as the research gaps in ESCO studies. The outcomes of this study would be useful for understanding current developments in global ESCO research and to guide the next frontier in the subject. • A systematic literature review on ESCo research published between 2013 and 2023. • ESCo research source Journals and focus areas have been identified. • Business models and market development are top ESCO research focuses. • Highlighted influential journals in ESCO research: Energy Policy, Sustainability. • Future ESCO research trends: EPC risk management and market evaluation.