Exploring Digital Transformation in Public Administration: A bibliometric Analysis

The concept of digital transformation (DT) has gained significant interest across various fields due to its diverse and engaging nature. The discussion on the public sector and DT has become more crucial as this transformation extends beyond economic impact, intensively influencing public administration and societal structure. In the public sector, DT has become a vital area of study, focusing on modernizing service delivery, streamlining operations, and enhancing efficiency. However, existing research often lacks a systematic analysis of publication trends, key contributors (authors and countries), and the evolution of research themes in DT within public administration. To understand this phenomenon, our aim is to explore the current state of the art of DT within public administration. The study was carried out on 459 documents from 1997 to 2024 using the Scopus database. Then, we apply Bibliometric methods for descriptive and conceptual analysis. This paper contributes by identifying themes, contributions, and trends discussing the DT in public administration. Our findings reveal a steady increase in scientific output, with a notable peak from 2020 to 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. China, the UK, and Germany are the countries with the highest number of papers discussing DT within public administration, while keywords like digital transformation, digitalization, e-government and COVID- 19 are among the most discussed topics. This study has the potential to provide a broad overview concerning the scientific discourse about DT in public administration and can support researchers, policymakers, and educators to advance their knowledge on this specific topic.