Exploring Trends and Insights in Industrial Symbiosis Research in Italy: A Bibliometric Approach

Industrial symbiosis is increasingly recognised as a practical tool for companies to valorise their industrial surpluses and reduce the use of raw materials. This paper reports a comprehensive map of studies addressing the industrial symbiosis topic in the Italian context. The primary goal is to provide an overview of the existing literature for highlighting the main research trends and supporting both academics and practitioners in industrial symbiosis implementation. A sample of 37 published articles, gathered from Scopus using a systematic approach is carefully investigated. Through bibliometric analysis, the publication trend, most relevant/impactful authors, journals and keywords are determined. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first systematic review leveraging a bibliometric analysis on the topic under investigation. One of the main findings is that economic feasibility should be considered in future assessments to prevent industrial symbiosis pilot projects from remaining in a preliminary state. Lastly, this research, through the identification of research hotspots and gaps, serves as a valuable roadmap for directing future studies.