Proof of Concept: a co-word analysis

This study describes the conceptual structure of Proof of Concept (PoC) research in the fields of innovation and technology management over the past 33 years (1992-2024). Throughout this period, numerous terms and theoretical perspectives have emerged, leading to a fragmented and dispersed field. Utilizing a co-word analysis based on author keywords from the Scopus database, we selected the most frequent terms to provide a comprehensive overview of current studies. Through cluster analysis, we identify and highlight the key labels used by scholars to investigate PoC, illustrating their arrangement into distinct subgroups. Additionally, we interpret the relationships among terms using multidimensional scaling and employ overlay visualization to anchor the relevance of keywords over time. Our findings reveal the coexistence of several conceptualizations within PoC research, ranging from technological advancements to methodological approaches. This study offers a refined conceptual framework, contributing to both theoretical inquiry and practical applications in organizational contexts.