Mapping the intellectual structure and thematic evolution of sustainable supply chain management: a science-mapping approach

Although SSCM research has grown rapidly, prior reviews remain fragmented, context-specific, or based on relatively small or dated datasets, which limits understanding of how the field’s intellectual structure has developed. This study maps the intellectual structure and thematic evolution of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) and identifies major research gaps and emerging directions. A bibliometric and science-mapping analysis was conducted using 4,324 English-language Scopus articles and reviews published between 1999 and 2026. Performance analysis was combined with co-citation analysis, keyword co-occurrence analysis, strategic mapping, and thematic evolution analysis using VOSviewer and SciMAT. The co-citation results identify three foundations of SSCM research: (1) green supply chain management (GSCM) drivers and firm performance, (2) SSCM conceptual frameworks, and (3) core theories and methodologies. The keyword analysis reveals four major clusters: SSCM, circular economy, and digital technologies; green supply chain management, environmental management, firm performance; optimization and decision-making; and carbon emissions, costs, and profitability. The thematic evolution results show a shift from early research on sustainable development, green supply chains, costs, and industry applications toward carbon management, closed-loop supply chains, digital technologies, organizational performance, and resilience. Recent keywords, including circular economy, blockchain, artificial intelligence, Industry 4.0, and green innovation, indicate increasing attention to circular and data-driven supply chains. The study contributes by combining multiple science-mapping techniques to provide an integrated understanding of the SSCM field and identifying underexplored areas, including social sustainability, multi-tier implementation, digital technology effectiveness, carbon–performance trade-offs, and sustainable resilience. It also provides directions for developing sustainable, circular, low-carbon, digitally enabled, and resilient supply chains.