Bibliometric Analysis of Governance in Sustainable Supply Chains: Contributions to Research and Managerial Practice

This study addresses the fragmented understanding of the role of governance structures and mechanisms in fostering sustainability within supply chains.It seeks to investigate how governance contributes to the development of Sustainable Supply Chains (SSCs), aiming to identify key authors, influential journals, and prevailing research themes, while highlighting both theoretical and managerial gaps in the literature.A bibliometric analysis was conducted based on articles indexed in the Scopus database between 2014 and 2024, employing the ProKnow-C methodology.This involved a multi-stage selection process comprising citation analysis, content alignment, and relevance assessment, culminating in a final portfolio of 30 rigorously selected articles.The analysis revealed the prominence of author Kannan Govindan, alongside the Journal of Cleaner Production and the International Journal of Production Research as the leading publication venues.Frequently recurring keywords such as "Supply Chain Management, " "Sustainable Development, " and "Sustainability" underscore the centrality of collaborative and sustainability-oriented approaches within SSC research.The findings contribute to the theoretical consolidation of SSC governance by categorizing governance structures and mechanisms applicable to sustainable supply chains.From a managerial standpoint, the study offers actionable insights to inform the design and implementation of governance strategies that foster sustainability across supply networks.Additionally, it outlines future research avenues to support interdisciplinary inquiry into governance and sustainability integration.