Digital transformation in village financial management: A bibliometric analysis of research evolution and contemporary challenges

Digital transformation in village financial management has become a strategic issue in modern governance, but research on digital transformation is still limited and not well systematic. This study aims to analyze the evolution and development of digital transformation research in village financial management through systematic bibliometric analysis from 2015 to 2024. The paper uses bibliometric analysis of 507 documents from journals in the Scopus database processed using RStudio software with the biblioshiny package. The research findings reveal gaps in theoretical development, especially in the integration of local governance frameworks with digital innovation models. The research landscape shows a growing focus on accountability mechanisms (28 articles) and transparency systems (24 articles) but lacks comprehensive studies on implementation challenges and success factors. Although local governance has emerged as a dominant research stream (89 articles), there is still less attention to critical areas such as digital literacy, cybersecurity, and change management in the rural context. The analysis identifies three future research directions: the need for a specific digital transformation framework for village-level financial systems, mechanisms for integrating traditional governance with digital innovation, and evaluation metrics for the success of digital transformation in rural settings. These findings contribute to the development of theoretical understanding and practical implementation of digital transformation in village financial management.