Fig. 1
Annual number of primary papers.
Table 1
Most cited journals.
| R | Journal Name | TC | TP | HI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Academy of Management Review | 1,416 | 5 | 5 |
| 2 | Strategic Management Journal | 979 | 13 | 10 |
| 3 | Energy Policy | 654 | 22 | 14 |
| 4 | European Journal of Operational Research | 651 | 28 | 14 |
| 5 | Energy Economics | 637 | 24 | 13 |
| 6 | Journal of Finance | 592 | 7 | 6 |
| 7 | Management Science | 525 | 9 | 8 |
| 8 | Harvard Business Review | 429 | 3 | 3 |
| 9 | Organization Science | 422 | 4 | 4 |
| 10 | Review of Financial Studies | 333 | 6 | 5 |
| 11 | Journal of International Business Studies | 327 | 6 | 6 |
| 12 | Quarterly Journal of Economics | 270 | 1 | 1 |
| 13 | Journal of Financial Economics | 267 | 4 | 4 |
| 14 | Decision Sciences | 265 | 5 | 5 |
| 15 | Journal of Management Information Systems | 248 | 5 | 5 |
| 16 | Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis | 241 | 3 | 3 |
| 17 | Information Systems Research | 235 | 5 | 4 |
| 18 | IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management | 229 | 8 | 6 |
| 19 | Journal of Environmental Economics and Management | 228 | 3 | 3 |
| 20 | Financial Management | 216 | 5 | 4 |
| 21 | Operations Research | 206 | 5 | 4 |
| 22 | Economic Journal | 199 | 1 | 1 |
| 23 | International Journal of Production Economics | 198 | 10 | 8 |
| 24 | Journal of Management Studies | 197 | 3 | 3 |
| 25 | Review of Economic Studies | 193 | 2 | 2 |
[i] R: rank, TC: times cited, TP: total publications, HI: h-index.
Table 2
Most cited authors.
| R | Author | TC | TP | HI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McGrath R | 1,257 | 3 | 3 |
| 2 | Folta T | 443 | 4 | 3 |
| 3 | Grenadier S | 424 | 4 | 4 |
| 4 | Benaroch M | 408 | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | Miller K | 365 | 3 | 3 |
| 6 | Smith J | 356 | 3 | 3 |
| 7 | Luehrman T | 325 | 2 | 2 |
| 8 | Adner R | 315 | 2 | 2 |
| 9 | Kauffman R | 282 | 2 | 2 |
| 10 | Trigeorgis L | 280 | 7 | 6 |
| 11 | Kulatilaka N | 277 | 2 | 2 |
| 12 | Levinthal D | 275 | 1 | 1 |
| 13 | Paddock J | 270 | 1 | 1 |
| 14 | Siegel D | 270 | 1 | 1 |
| 15 | Loch C | 260 | 1 | 1 |
| 16 | Huchzermeier A | 260 | 1 | 1 |
| 17 | Nerkar A | 256 | 1 | 1 |
| 18 | Tong T | 250 | 3 | 3 |
| 19 | Kogut B | 243 | 1 | 1 |
| 20 | Tufano P | 233 | 2 | 2 |
| 21 | Vassolo R | 223 | 1 | 1 |
| 22 | Anand J | 223 | 1 | 1 |
| 23 | Reuer J | 215 | 2 | 2 |
| 24 | Van Reenen J | 199 | 1 | 1 |
| 25 | Bloom N | 199 | 1 | 1 |
[i] R: rank, TC: times cited, TP: total publications, HI: h-index.
Table 3
Most cited articles. Source: Own elaboration.
| R | Title, Author, Year | TC | TC/y |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Falling forward: Real options reasoning and entrepreneurial failure, McGrath, 1999 | 583 | 27.8 |
| 2 | A real options logic for initiating technology positioning investments, McGrath, 1997 | 418 | 18.2 |
| 3 | Renewable energy investments under different support schemes: A real options approach, Boomsma, Meade, & Fleten, 2012 | 139 | 17.4 |
| 4 | What is not a real option: Considering boundaries for the application of real options to business strategy, Adner & Levinthal, 2004 | 275 | 17.2 |
| 5 | Real options reasoning and a new look at the R&D investment strategies of pharmaceutical firms, McGrath & Nerkar, 2004 | 256 | 16.0 |
| 6 | Non-additivity in portfolios of exploration activities: A real options-based analysis of equity alliances in biotechnology, Vassolo, Anand, & Folta, 2004 | 223 | 13.9 |
| 7 | Project management under risk: Using the real options approach to evaluate flexibility in R&D, Huchzermeier & Loch, 2001 | 260 | 13.7 |
| 8 | Capabilities as real options, Kogut & Kulatilaka, 2001 | 243 | 12.8 |
| 9 | A real options model for renewable energy investment with application to solar photovoltaic power generation in China, Zhang, Zhou, & Zhou, 2016 | 49 | 12.3 |
| 10 | A real options evaluation model for the diffusion prospects of new renewable power generation technologies, Kumbaroğlu, Madlener, & Demirel, 2008 | 134 | 11.2 |
| 11 | Patents, real options and firm performance, Bloom & van Reenen, 2002 | 199 | 11.1 |
| 12 | The strategic exercise of options: Development cascades and overbuilding in real estate markets, Grenadier, 1996 | 253 | 10.5 |
| 13 | Optimal design of feed-in-tariffs to stimulate renewable energy investments under regulatory uncertainty - A real options analysis, Ritzenhofen & Spinler, 2016 | 41 | 10.3 |
| 14 | Strategic delay in a real options model of R&D competition, Weeds, 2002 | 182 | 10.1 |
| 15 | Optimal feed-in tariff for solar photovoltaic power generation in China: A real options analysis, Zhang, Zhou, Zhou, & Liu, 2016 | 40 | 10.0 |
| 16 | A case for using real options pricing analysis to evaluate information technology project investments, Benaroch & Kauffman, 1999 | 204 | 9.7 |
| 17 | Managing information technology investment risk: A real options perspective, Benaroch, 2002 | 163 | 9.1 |
| 18 | Real options in equity partnerships, Folta & Miller, 2002 | 163 | 9.1 |
| 19 | Real options and foreign affiliate divestments: A portfolio perspective, Belderbos & Zou, 2009 | 99 | 9.0 |
| 20 | Real options, international entry mode choice and performance, Brouthers, Brouthers, & Werner, 2008 | 107 | 8.9 |
[i] R: rank, TC: times cited, TC/y: average citations per year.
Fig. 3
Network I (bibliographic coupling, 2000–2009).
Fig. 4
Network II (bibliographic coupling, 2010–2019).
Fig. 5
RO Research Framework. Source: Own Elaboration.
Table 4
Proposed future research themes.
| What are the independencies between internal and external uncertainties as antecedents of the application of RO theory? How can RO theory be applied to sustainability issues (such as renewable energy)? What are the differences between various RO application areas? How can RO valuation models be simplified for an easier application in managerial practice? What are the opportunities to combine RO with other theories (such as game theory)? |