Taking stock and moving forward: A bibliometric systematic literature review on entrepreneurial leadership

Abstract Entrepreneurial leadership, a concept bridging entrepreneurship and leadership, has recently become a focal point in academic discussions. Despite its growing prominence, a thorough synthesis of its existing literature, methodological trends, and developing research areas has yet to be explored. This study addresses these gaps through a bibliometric systematic literature review (B‐SLR), thereby integrating quantitative bibliometric mapping with qualitative synthesis. By coupling traditional SLR procedures with bibliometric analysis, it delivers a comprehensive overview of entrepreneurial leadership research, clarifies the field's evolution and dynamics, and establishes a robust foundation for future theory development. Seventy‐seven Web of Science (WoS) articles from 2004 to 2023 were systematically collected and analyzed using the VOSviewer software for descriptive analysis and visualization, followed by a qualitative review of the emerging clusters. The analysis and review highlighted four key research themes, methodological and temporal trends, and significant publications, revealing a growing interest and recent surge in entrepreneurial leadership studies. Accordingly, these findings spotlight distinct research directions and contribute to theoretical insights and practical implications that serve as a guide for academics and practitioners in the field of entrepreneurial leadership.