The sustainability publication gap and its implications

Scientific articles and journals represent a knowledge network, and the distribution of articles among journals with different impact factors highlight a structure of the network. We found a large gap in the publication pattern of sustainability with research published in either high or low impact factor journals, but not middle-range impact factor outlets. This distribution stands in contrast to established disciplines, which maintain a continuous gradient across low to high impact factor journals. The bi-modal publication pattern of sustainability may reflect the variation in the significance of the topics addressed by sustainability researchers or the youthful stage of sustainability as a scientific field. The sustainability publication gap may hamper communication among sustainability scientists and delay the consolidation of the field. Simultaneously, it may assist sustainability from becoming a research silo, nurturing and strengthening the integrative character of its research.