One Population, Many Labels: Thematic Clusters in Ageing Research Across Business and Management

<title>Abstract</title> <p>Ageing research in business and management is constrained by terminological fragmentation, with scholars using labels such as “elderly,” “older adults,” and “senior workers” interchangeably for the same population. This inconsistency undermines the reliability of systematic literature retrieval. Addressing this issue, the present study maps the field’s thematic structure and develops a standardized search string to ensure consistent evidence identification across varying terminology. A bibliometric keyword co-occurrence analysis was conducted on 3,673 peer-reviewed articles from Scopus and Web of Science. The analysis reveals four core clusters: (1) consumer well-being and service quality, (2) labour markets and retirement transitions, (3) care services and healthcare delivery, and (4) AI, robotics, and smart technologies. These clusters are theoretically interpreted through Institutional Theory, the Resource-Based View, Diversity and Inclusion, and Socioemotional Selectivity Theory, spanning macro, meso, and micro levels. Findings indicate that care services represent the most established research stream, while AI and smart technologies constitute the fastest-growing frontier. Consumer well-being demonstrates the highest citation impact. To address terminological inconsistency, an 18-term standardized search string is proposed, integrating spelling variants, domain-specific terms, and wildcard truncations. This study provides a theoretically grounded, multi-level conceptual map, uncovering four distinct scholarly communities previously obscured by fragmented terminology.</p>