Sport sustainability research at the intersection of climate action, SDGs, and sport management: a comparative bibliometric mapping of Web of Science and Scopus
Frontiers in Research Metrics and Analytics, cilt.11, 2026 (ESCI, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 11
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.3389/frma.2026.1884197
- Dergi Adı: Frontiers in Research Metrics and Analytics
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Scopus, Applied Science & Technology Source, Directory of Open Access Journals
- Anahtar Kelimeler: bibliometric analysis, climate action, ESG governance, science mapping, Scopus, sport ecology, sport management, sport sustainability
- Açık Arşiv Koleksiyonu: AVESİS Açık Erişim Koleksiyonu
- İstanbul Gelişim Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Purpose – This study examines the intellectual, structural, and thematic development of sport sustainability research at the intersection of climate action, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ESG governance, sport ecology, and sport management. It also investigates how Web of Science and Scopus represent this interdisciplinary field and the extent to which database selection influences its visible structure and boundaries. Design/methodology/approach – Bibliographic data were collected from the Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus covering the period 2010–2025, with the final search conducted on May 11, 2026. Following PRISMA-guided screening, deduplication, and search-field sensitivity analysis, 6, 279 unique publications were retained from an initial dataset of 9, 711 records. Analyses were performed in R using the bibliometrix package and included performance analysis, Jaccard overlap assessment, database-specific subset comparison, Lotka's and Bradford's laws, keyword co-occurrence analysis, thematic mapping, thematic evolution, and three-fields analysis. The study further interprets bibliometric patterns through Bourdieu's field theory by considering publication concentration, symbolic recognition, and thematic consolidation. Findings – Sport sustainability research has grown substantially since 2018, with acceleration after 2020. Comparison of Web of Science and Scopus revealed both a shared bibliographic core and a considerable database-specific periphery. Shared records accounted for 54.71% of the final dataset, while WoS-only and Scopus-only records represented 20.10% and 25.20%, respectively. These findings indicate that database selection influences the visible structure, source composition, and thematic coverage of the field. Lotka analysis demonstrated a highly concentrated authorship pattern (β = 2.888, R2 = 0.975), although a significant K–S deviation reflected the predominance of single-publication authors. Bradford analysis confirmed a clear core–periphery journal structure. Thematic analyses revealed a transition from environmental awareness and event legacy topics toward climate accountability, ESG governance, sport ecology, and SDG-oriented research. Research limitations/implications – The study is limited to English-language publications indexed in Web of Science and Scopus. Future research should incorporate additional databases, non-English sources, and empirical sustainability indicators to enhance coverage and practical relevance. Originality/value – By integrating Web of Science and Scopus within a comparative bibliometric framework, this study provides a comprehensive overview of sport sustainability research and demonstrates how database infrastructures influence the representation and development of emerging scientific fields.