A systematic analysis of systems thinking and the sustainability of small and medium size enterprises (SMEs): A global evaluation

The sustainability of Small and Medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has gained growing interest in recent years owing to their substantial impact on the global economy. However, global uncertainty has increased the complexity of managing SMEs, making it necessary to adopt holistic approaches to promote the growth and sustainability of the industry. In this study, we used a bibliometric analysis to investigate the global research trends on the application of systems thinking to the sustainability of SMEs globally using 236 published documents in BibTeX format. Our scoping review involved published resources on the subject from popular databases such as Scopus and Web of Science. Our results reveal a significant growth in research applying systems thinking to the sustainability of SMEs globally from 2006 to 2023. Countries such as the United Kingdom (17.8%), Italy (9.3%), Spain (5.9%), India (5.1%), and China (4.1%) had the most publications in systems thinking and the sustainability of SMEs while publications in countries such as South Africa were relatively low (2.1%). Italy had the highest number of cited systems thinking and SME research publications (815 citations per year). The Journal of Journal of Cleaner Production and Business Strategy and the Environment were the top two journals with the most citations and h-indices. This study concludes that there is a global increase in systems thinking and SME research, with the most noticeable outcomes in developed countries compared to developing nations. Less developed countries must invest in holistic approaches to understand the performance, growth, and sustainability of SMEs, especially in Africa where SMEs account for a huge proportion of all businesses.