Research Topics and Research Paradigms in Academic Research of Digital Economics

Profound digital transformation is one of the most significant features of the current economic society, which has also ignited a surge of academic research in the digital economics in China. However, there are several prominent issues that need to be reflected upon in the current related research: overly macroscopic indicator measurement, excessive focus on “big and comprehensive” research objects, failure to highlight the core characteristics of the digital economics in research perspectives, and lagging behind in research data and techniques. To address these issues, future research should focus on the following areas: transforming from “big and comprehensive” to “small and precise” in research objects, revealing the new changes in economic and social relationships in the digital economy era through the core characteristics of the digital economics in research perspectives; widely using multi-source big data deeply penetrated by the digital economy in research data; and embracing cutting-edge technical methods to support empirical research in research techniques. Utilizing the big data and new technologies such as artificial intelligence generated by the penetration of the digital economy, and examining and analyzing the new changes in economic and social relationships under the influence of the digital economy from the core characteristics of the digital economics, is the most ideal research paradigm for the digital economics.