Strategic Industries – Is There a Common Terminological Ground?

Abstract

In the contemporary, uncertain global economic situation, interest in strategic industries has emerged. The study aims to identify strategic industries and track the methods used to do so. The methodology of this study is a systematic literature review of methods for identifying strategic industries. The study elaborates on how external disruptive events shaped the approach to strategic industries. The bibliometric analysis of 4,099 records in Web of Science (WoS) in January 2023 revealed that food, energy, and water supply are the main topics in the related research. Three main streams have been identified: free-competition-centered, economic-performance-centered, and safety-centered. Strategic industries were grouped into three categories: universal, country-specific, and proliferating.