A BIBLIOMETRIC ASSESSMENT OF THE NEXUS BETWEEN DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AND SOCIO ECONOMIC EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS: MAPPING A MANAGEMENT AND ECONOMICS RESEARCH AGENDA

DOI: https://doie.org/10.65985/APER.2026891737

Authors:

Preeti, Vineeta Kaushik

Keywords:

Digital Transformation, Socio-Economic Employment, SDG 8, Bibliometric Analysis, Industry 4.0.

Abstract:

Purpose: This paper is a thorough bibliometric review of the emerging Digital-Employment Nexus, which examines how digital transformation, Industry 4.0, and automation collide with socio-economic labour relations. In the context of the movement to Industry 5.0 around the world and the requirements of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8, the intellectual mapping conducted in the current research will help to indicate whether management strategies are already shifting toward human-centric labour practices or continue to rely on a displacement-enhancing logic. Design/Methodology/Approach: The Scopus database was used to retrieve 668 peer-reviewed articles published in 2017-2026 with the help of a severe science mapping workflow. Bibliometrix R package and Biblioshiny were used to analyse the dataset, which included the performance analysis, thematic mapping, and social structure assessment through the use of co-word and co-authorship networks. Findings: The findings demonstrate the fact that the growth of scientific production is exponential, and the shift in the theme of scientific production is evidently of a technical Industry 4.0 adoption into the socio-technical management. The Digital Skills, SMEs, and Human Resource Management came up as the most common Motor Themes supplying empirical data to the hypothesis of Reinstatement Effect instead of Technological Displacement. Nonetheless, the nexus between the Digital Transformation, Social Sustainability, and Decent Work is still a nascent cluster, where Social Sustainability and Decent Work are not the key pillars. Originality/Value: In contrast to the classic narrative review, the study offers an up-to-date cross-disciplinary overview of the management and economics research agenda in a decade of radical disruption. It provides a policy roadmap that is critical to policymakers to match the digital incentives with SDG 8, which suggests "Digital Labour Resilience" and inclusive value creation in the post-AI era.

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