RESEARCH ON THE ISSUES OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION: BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS

Abstract

Due to the capabilities offered by automation of management processes, the scope of application for information systems and technologies (IST) as a research subject is expanding exponentially, covering a wide range of related topics, fields of knowledge, and areas of activity. This expansion highlights the importance of studying the conceptual framework and trends in digital transformation. The purpose of this article is to examine the quantitative and qualitative structure of scientific publications on digitalization, key research directions, and to identify prospects for further developments in digital transformation. The article presents results of a bibliometric analysis of scientific publications on digitalization issues indexed in the SCOPUS scientometric database. The embedded analytical tools in SCOPUS were used to analyze the selected publications sample. Bibliometric indicators included: annual publication dynamics and the structure of scientific fields associated with these publications. An important part of the study is an analysis of the content of the most-cited publications in the sample. Keyword analysis revealed that the most commonly used keywords by authors are "digitalization," "transformation," and "innovation." It was found that digital transformation in scholarly work generally focuses on two areas: (1) digitalization as a product and outcome of IST application, aimed at meeting the needs of various stakeholders, and (2) digitalization as the process of IST creation. This result confirms the close link between digital transformation and innovative activities, highlighting two types of innovations: product-innovation and process-innovation. It was found that the relevance and continuous development of IST research are influenced by highly cited publications from researchers primarily affiliated with universities in developed countries. Bibliometric analysis of publications related to digital transformation has demonstrated a growing interest among researchers in this topic. Over the past decade, there has been a steady increase in the number of scientific articles dedicated to this issue, and the context in which the topic of digitalization is considered has proven to be quite diverse. Researchers from various countries are studying the impact of digitalization on the economy and social processes as a whole. Conclusions are drawn regarding the identified trends, and the potential for future research topics is summarized.