A bibliometric analysis of micro, small and medium enterprises research impacted by COVID-19

The contribution of MSME has been recognised by all major economies. The fragile nature of this sector catches researchers' attention. During a crisis, there are multiple angles where researchers get active such as sustainability, crisis management, human development, innovation, and economic impact among others. Still, it is not clear what areas of MSME continue to hold researchers' attention and how the trend is changing. This study focuses on a bibliometric overview of published research work in the MSME sector during the COVID-19 pandemic, it examines papers between 2019 and 2022 and carries out performance analysis, co-citation analysis, bibliographic coupling and conceptual and thematic mapping. Overall, 647 Scopus papers have been identified, and published in the short span of 2019-2022. The Python-based software Bibliometrix and VOSviewer are used for analysis. The result highlights 650.67% annual growth. This study will help researchers to identify the trending topics in MSME. The major research themes are identified as motor, basic, niche, emerging or declining themes.