Evolution of project management research: a bibliometric study of International Journal of Project Management

• Main Authors: Fábio Cocchi da Silva Eiras, Henrique Takashi Adati Tomomitsu, Ian Marques Porto Linhares, Marly Monteiro de Carvalho
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade Estadual Paulista 2017-03-01
• Series: GEPROS: Gestão da Produção, Operações e Sistemas
• Subjects: Bibliometric study; Project management; Literature review.
• Online Access: http://revista.feb.unesp.br/index.php/gepros/article/view/1617

Over the past decades, the project management field has evolved and consolidated. Facing this growth, this research aims to identify the main trends of research in the area, as well as providing an overview of publications, identifying new issues, changes in approaches and the development of knowledge areas. To do so, a systematic review of the literature was performed with the use of bibliometric study in the papers of the International Journal of Project Management (IJPM), included in SCOPUS, from its first volume to 2015, covering a period of more than 30 years. It was found that developing countries are increasingly concerned in developing research into the field of project management, especially in mega infrastructure projects and public-private partnerships. The risk is a central topic in all periods of analysis, however, the strategic topics such as success in project and portfolio management are among the fastest growing. Issues related to the soft side of project management as skills, culture, and knowledge management have emerged in recent periods. According to the industry, construction projects and projects in information technology are the most studied along the period analysed.