Uncovering the dynamics of enterprises digital transformation research: A comparative review on literature before and after the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly changed global practices of enterprise digital transformation (EDT). However, the impact of the pandemic on EDT research patterns remains unexplored. This study examines the overall development and research pattern shift of literature on EDT in the field of business and economics. A bibliometric analysis with CiteSpace was conducted on a total of 140 journal articles indexed the SSCI and SCIE databases on Web of Science prior to the pandemic and 621 articles published after the pandemic. The results suggest that following the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a significantly rapid growth of EDT-related publications, and the contributing role in EDT research of influential countries has undergone significant changes. Furthermore, the changes in keyword patterns were identified before and after the pandemic. Specifically, EDT research after the COVID-19 outbreak has been focusing on emerging topics, such as corporate governance, sustainable development, platform ecosystems, and dynamic capabilities. Finally, recommendations for future research are provided at individual, organizational, and ecosystem levels. Overall, this study is one of the first studies to uncover the dynamics of EDT research patterns due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, thus enhancing our understanding of the features and structures of digital transformation research in uncertain environment.

Keywords

• Digital transformation
• COVID-19 pandemic
• Uncertainty
• Dynamic capabilities
• CiteSpace