American Research Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

This study examines whether differences in national research organization are reflected in the scholarly performance of European Research Council (ERC) grant recipients in the social sciences and humanities in France and the Netherlands. The comparison is framed around contrasting patterns of research governance and institutional organization, with particular attention to their possible influence on publication output, subject specialization, and collaborative activity. The study analyzes 9,996 publications produced by 305 ERC-funded researchers during 2019–2023, using data obtained from Scopus and SciVal. A combination of topic modeling through latent Dirichlet allocation, compound annual growth rate calculations, and co-authorship network analysis was applied to identify major disciplinary patterns and research relationships. The findings indicate strong activity in neuroscience, climate-related research, and psychology, while French researchers show greater prominence in language and linguistics and Dutch researchers demonstrate stronger representation in law and political science. Institutional affiliations also differ considerably between the two countries. French awardees are more frequently connected with national and specialized research organizations, whereas Dutch awardees are concentrated in leading universities. Collaboration appears closely associated with scholarly visibility, particularly when international partners are involved. Overall, the findings demonstrate that institutional settings and patterns of collaboration play an important role in shaping academic performance.

Keywords: European Research Council; Scientometric Analysis; Research Governance; France; Netherlands; Scholarly Collaboration; Publication Performance.