The Maturation of Management, Spirituality and Religion as a Research Discipline

This bibliometric analysis examines the ontological and epistemological evolution of the management, spirituality and religion (MSR) field, tracing nascent origins to the contemporary domain of scholarly inquiry. We analyse a corpus of 5,566 publications indexed on the Web of Science using a number of bibliometric indicators including: thematic keywords, geographical distribution, institutional affiliations, publication outlets, seminal contributions and influential scholars within the MSR domain. The analysis illuminates the field’s intellectual foundations by identifying the most impactful contributions and seminal theoretical frameworks. Furthermore, we report the thematic evolution of the field across four decades and establish a conceptual cartography of MSR-related domains. The findings demonstrate a distinct developmental trajectory of the MSR field since 1956, characterized by increasing methodological sophistication, theoretical consolidation and expanding interdisciplinary connections. This study provides insight into theoretical gaps, promising avenues for future inquiry, and insights to inform curriculum development and enhance pedagogical approaches in management education. Consequently, we advance empirically substantiated insights into the field’s maturation from a peripheral specialization into a globally recognized academic discipline with distinctive theoretical contributions. Our study also addresses extant critiques of MSR research and establishes a robust epistemological foundation for advancing future scholarly endeavors in this domain.