Innovation hubs and entrepreneurial support systems: a bibliometric and systematic literature review

Abstract

Purpose This study examines how innovation hubs, including incubators, accelerators and regulatory sandboxes have been conceptualised and studied within the entrepreneurship and innovation literature. Although widely promoted as instruments of entrepreneurial support, this research remains fragmented, theoretically narrow and geographically concentrated. This study aims to clarify the intellectual foundations of the field and assess when and how innovation hubs contribute to entrepreneurial outcomes. Design/methodology/approach A bibliometric and systematic literature review approach is used. Bibliometric mapping identifies intellectual structure, thematic clusters and citation patterns. The systematic component applies the antecedents–decisions–outcomes (ADO) and theory–context–method (TCM) frameworks to classify theoretical orientations, empirical settings and methodological approaches, enabling a multidimensional synthesis of the field. Findings Four core mechanisms, mentorship, network facilitation, infrastructure and financial access are frequently cited but vary in effectiveness depending on programme design and institutional context. Hubs with strategic adaptability, interpretive capacity and strong ecosystem embeddedness produce more durable outcomes. The literature remains dominated by resource-based perspectives and underutilises institutional and relational theories. Empirical work is concentrated in high-income contexts, limiting broader theoretical applicability. Originality/value The study’s primary contribution is to reconceptualise innovation hubs as contextually embedded and strategically adaptive organisations that interpret and mediate between institutional structures and entrepreneurial agency. By integrating the ADO and TCM frameworks within a combined bibliometric–systematic review, the study links antecedent conditions, strategic decision logics and entrepreneurial outcomes across macro-, meso- and micro-levels. This reconceptualisation advances a relational–institutional foundation for theorising innovation hubs within entrepreneurial ecosystems.