Mapping the Scientific Map and Analyzing the Co-Occusrrence of the Concept of the Digital Ecosystem with a Management Approsach on the Web of Science

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Ph.D. Candidate of Industrial Management (Systems) Kish Interna-tional Campus of Tehran University, Kish, Iran.

2 Associate Professor, Department of Information Technology Management University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Purpose: With the growing complexity of organizational environments in both the private and public sectors, the need for inter-organizational cooperation has become increasingly important. Consequently, in recent decades, the concept of an ecosystem has been introduced to facilitate connections between organizations across various fields of management science. With the rapid development of Industry 4.0, various ecosystem combinations—such as innovation ecosystems and entrepreneurship ecosystems—have emerged. Among these, digital ecosystems represent a newer and rapidly evolving field that has garnered significant attention from researchers in recent years. The purpose of this study is to conduct a scientometric analysis and visualize a map of the knowledge structure, co-authorship network, and thematic clusters related to digital ecosystems within the field of management, as indexed in the Web of Science database.
Methodology: This research is an applied study that employs common techniques in scientometrics, specifically co-occurrence analysis methods. To obtain the primary data, the keyword "digital ecosystem" was searched in the Web of Science database for the years 2000 to 2023. A total of 4,496 articles published in this database were analyzed as the statistical population. The data were analyzed using VOS Viewer and BibExcel software to extract the knowledge map and co-occurrence network. In this research, the authors' fields and indexers' keywords were utilized for synonym analysis. After retrieving the records, a total of 14,140 keywords were obtained from the 4,496 examined records for co-occurrence analysis. Of these, 1,173 frequent words, identified based on Bradford's law with a frequency of 5 or higher, were selected for co-word analysis.
Findings: 14,140 keywords were identified in this analysis, with 1,173 instances exhibiting the same timing in the co-occurrence analysis of five words. The results of this six-cluster analysis indicate that the most recent emerging topics in 2021 are associated with a range of innovative information technologies, intelligent relationships, entrepreneurial ecosystems, digitalization, digital servitization, ecosystem architecture, and their impacts. The co-occurrence of the keywords shows the highest frequency in research related to the digital ecosystem from a management perspective. The United States, the United Kingdom, and China have made the most significant contributions to research on this topic. The findings reveal that Parida V. is the most active author, and the fields of computer science and information systems are recognized as the most prolific areas of study. Additionally, terms such as identified as the most frequently used keywords, which were categorized into six clusters based on their co-occurrence. An analysis of international collaboration revealed eight clusters, with the highest level of collaboration occurring in the first cluster, which includes 20 countries, while the least collaboration is observed in cluster eight, which comprises only three members.
Conclusion: The scientometric study and analysis of the co-authorship network and thematic clusters related to the concept of the digital ecosystem from a management perspective, as sourced from the Web of Science database, revealed that 99.13% of the scientific documents in this field were published in English. The highest frequency of articles on this topic occurred in 2022, marking the peak of research in this area, particularly concerning the Fourth Industrial Revolution and emerging technologies. Based on the time series analysis, three distinct historical periods can be identified. The first period focuses on the design and initial planning of the ecosystem, while the second period encompasses themes such as management, innovation, dynamics, platforms, value creation, strategy, competition, and performance. In the third stage, the focus shifts to emerging information technologies, intelligent relationships, digitization, services, computer architecture, and the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The examination of the knowledge structure of the digital ecosystem from a managerial perspective indicates that it can serve as a roadmap for future research. Additionally, the analysis of the synonym network for the topic under investigation in the Web of Science database identified six thematic clusters: management of emerging technologies, innovation and entrepreneurship, co-creation, strategy, digital transformation, and networks. In countries' collaboration network, the United Kingdom has the highest number of collaborative links, followed by the United States, France, Spain, China, and Finland, which exhibit greater international collaboration than other nations. Meanwhile, the volume of documents published by Iran and its level of international collaboration warrant careful consideration. To enhance the country's development in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and leverage digital capabilities, Iran needs to reassess its international collaboration policies and actively participate in international scientific arenas to foster scientific growth and produce high-quality research publications.

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Main Subjects

References

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