?
Evolution of project studies through the lens of engaged scholarship: A longitudinal bibliometric analysis
Building on the debate on engaged scholarship in project studies, this article aims to explore the extent and potential of practitioner involvement in research on projects and thereby characterise the evolution of the field through the lens of engaged scholarship. We conduct a longitudinal bibliometric analysis of 6584 articles published on projects between 1964 and 2017 to capture the volume and citation impact of publications featuring practitioner involvement in comparison to purely academic publications. The analysis identifies distinct research production patterns, allowing us to delineate and characterise three evolutionary periods in project studies: projects as an execution methodology (1964-1989), projects as an organisational concept (1990-2001), and projects as a theoretical framework (from 2002). In this way, the article enriches the ongoing debate about engaged scholarship in project studies, and discusses the endemic challenges, as well as unused potential, of actively involving practitioners in the production of research on projects.