The article titled “Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) in business and management research: A contemporary overview” by Kumar et al. (2022), published in Technological Forecasting and Social Change, offers a comprehensive and state-of-the-art bibliometric review of the application of fsQCA and complexity theory in business and management studies. The article identifies trends, influential contributors, and thematic clusters through a systematic literature review (SLR) of 1,155 articles from the Scopus database.
The authors begin by highlighting the limitations of symmetrical statistical methods—such as regression and structural equation modeling—for understanding the complexities of real-world business phenomena. In contrast, fsQCA, grounded in set theory and Boolean algebra, offers an asymmetrical, configurational approach better suited for addressing the multifactorial and context-dependent nature of managerial realities. The growing dissatisfaction with null hypothesis significance testing (NHST) further supports the rise of fsQCA.
Methodologically, the study is structured in three stages: assembling, arranging, and assessing. It employs a technologically enhanced SLR using Bibliometrix-R and Gephi software. The authors filtered for peer-reviewed journal articles indexed by both the ABDC and CABS quality lists, ensuring methodological rigor.
Key findings from the performance analysis include:
- Publication Trends: There has been an exponential increase in fsQCA-related publications since 2016, particularly in journals like the Journal of Business Research, which alone published 336 articles.
- Top Contributors: Notable authors include Arch G. Woodside (30 articles), Hossein G.T. Olya, and Sascha Kraus. Influential articles, such as Fiss (2011) with 1,529 global citations, have shaped the field.
- Institutional and Country Contributions: Universidade de Lisboa and Universitat de València are leading institutions, while the UK and USA dominate in publication volume and citation impact.
- Collaboration Networks: The study maps eight significant author collaboration clusters and seven institutional collaboration clusters, identifying cross-country partnerships primarily between Europe and Asia.
The science mapping section identifies three main thematic clusters through keyword co-occurrence and PageRank analysis:
- Cluster 1: Leadership and Strategic Management – Focused on emergent leadership, self-organization, and knowledge management, rooted in complexity theory.
- Cluster 2: Corporate Social Responsibility and Culture – Emphasizing values, ethics, and qualitative comparative logic in organizational behavior.
- Cluster 3: Innovation and Entrepreneurship – Concentrated on fsQCA applications in entrepreneurial orientation, firm performance, and sustainability.
The authors conclude with a call for future research to further utilize fsQCA in underexplored areas, revisit traditional linear results using asymmetric logic, and apply configurational methods to more dynamic, complex business environments (DVUCA: disruptive, volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous).
Full Citation (APA Style):
Kumar, S., Sahoo, S., Lim, W. M., Kraus, S., & Bamel, U. (2022). Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) in business and management research: A contemporary overview. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 178, 121599. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2022.121599
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