Sustainability as Economic Value in Floriculture and Ornamental Horticulture: A Systematic Mapping and Bibliometric Review

Floriculture and ornamental horticulture face pressure to improve environmental and social performance without undermining economic viability, yet evidence on how sustainability becomes economic value remains fragmented. This systematic mapping and bibliometric review examines the field’s evolution and structure, the conditions under which sustainability attributes generate consumer value, and the firm-level and governance factors shaping adoption and value distribution. Scopus and Web of Science were searched on 10 May 2026 for English-language journal articles published from 2015 onwards. A PRISMA-guided process retained 77 studies, analysed through descriptive statistics, VOSviewer co-occurrence mapping, thematic classification and narrative synthesis. Publication activity became more continuous after 2020, but consumer preferences and willingness to pay accounted for 32.5% of the corpus. Bibliometric mapping identified three connected domains: sectoral sustainability and competitiveness, consumer valuation, and business adoption. Local origin, certification, pollinator-friendly production, reduced pesticide use and native plants can support differentiation and price premiums when aesthetic and functional quality, acceptable prices, label comprehension and trust are maintained. Producer-side evidence is less developed: adoption depends on investment and labour requirements, production risk, finance and buyer coordination. Certification may improve reputation and market access, while compliance costs, scale requirements and bargaining asymmetries can exclude smaller firms or prevent benefits from reaching growers and workers. The review distinguishes market potential, firm-level viability and realised value-chain outcomes. Sustainability creates economic value when consumer recognition, production feasibility and credible governance are aligned; future research should connect observed purchases and transaction prices with adoption costs, contracts and measurable environmental and social outcomes.