THE ROLE OF TEAM CAPTAINCY IN SUCCESS IN SPORTS TEAMS: A BIBLIOMETRIC PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

The primary objective of this research is to determine the role of team captaincy in achieving sustainable success in sports teams. Team captaincy is directly related to elements such as leadership, motivation, psychological resilience, and team harmony, and as such, it plays a strategic role in the long-term success of sports teams. The significance of this study, in this context, is that it demonstrates that this issue is not limited to on-field performance but also requires consideration of its social, emotional, and organizational dimensions. Within the scope of the research, a total of 236 academic publications published between 1992 and 2025 in the Web of Science (WoS) database were examined using bibliometric analysis. Bibliometric parameters related to publication numbers, distribution by year, productive authors, international collaboration networks, most frequently used keywords, thematic evolution, factorial analysis, word cloud, trending topics, common word network, and author productivity were analyzed within the context of Lotka’s Law. The findings reveal that leadership is the theme most strongly associated with team captaincy. Concepts such as burnout, psychological safety, teamwork, performance, and resilience reflect the multidimensional nature of the captaincy role. Furthermore, despite increasing interest in the literature in recent years, it has been observed that some themes lack consistency, and the concept of leadership is periodically addressed under different subheadings. Consequently, team captaincy is considered not only a technical but also a social, psychological, and managerial form of leadership for sustainable success in sports teams. Future research into topics such as technology-based leadership practices, the impact of cultural differences on captaincy, and team dynamics is recommended.