Deconstructing the Digital Economy: A Bibliometric Analysis

This paper presents a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of the digital economy, elucidating its evolution as a multifaceted domain driving global transformation across industries, societies, and public policies. By systematically mapping the field, the study reveals persistent fragmentation in definitions, conceptual approaches, and challenges in measuring the impact of digital platforms and technologies. Employing co-occurrence and co-citation methodologies, the analysis reveals six major intellectual clusters: digital transformation and strategy, entrepreneurial ecosystems and business models, the sharing economy and sustainability, digital marketplaces and crowdfunding, knowledge sharing and behavior, and the impact of automation on labor markets. Each cluster reflects critical research fronts and thematic priorities shaping academic discourse, including the interplay between technological innovation and strategic management, the emergence of collaborative consumption, and the dynamic transformation of labor structures amid automation. The findings highlight a rapid growth in scholarly research centered on entrepreneurship, innovation, and digital integration, with significant contributions from the United States, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Despite extensive research, the study identifies gaps in consensus on core definitions and methodologies, underscoring the need for greater interdisciplinary collaboration and longitudinal analysis.