Global Trends in Working Capital Management: A Bibliometric Review and Future Research Directions

Working Capital Management (WCM) plays a critical role in shaping firms’ liquidity, risk, and profitability, a relevance underscored by the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 and the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite extensive empirical research, a comprehensive synthesis of the intellectual structure of WCM literature remains limited. Addressing this gap, this study provides the first comprehensive bibliometric analysis of 913 WCM articles indexed in Scopus between 1981 and 2025 to systematically map the evolution, thematic structure, and research frontiers of the field. Using bibliometric techniques, we analyse publication trends, co-authorship patterns, influential journals, institutions, and countries, alongside co-citation, PageRank analysis, and thematic evolution. The results reveal a sharp post-2008 expansion of WCM research, concentrated in leading finance journals and primarily driven by contributions from the USA, India, and China, albeit with relatively fragmented international collaboration. Importantly, the analysis identifies three dominant research clusters: WCM and firm performance, WCM and financial constraints, and WCM and supply chain management, while also uncovering emerging themes include excess net working capital, corporate investment, corporate governance, macroeconomic conditions, and trade credit. Finally, a conceptual framework and research agenda are developed to direct and advance future research in WCM. These insights carry important implications for researchers, managers, policymakers and other stakeholders by underscoring the strategic role of WCM in strengthening firm resilience and guiding liquidity and investment decisions under economic uncertainty.