Speaker
Description
As digital technologies restructure labor markets, business models, and the conditions of economic participation, digital literacy has shifted from a marginal competency concern to a central research priority in business and management (B&M) literature. Yet the construct remains conceptually fluid, continuously redefined in response to technological change and lacking clear analytical boundaries despite rapid growth in the literature. This study maps the conceptual development of digital literacy in B&M research, identifying dominant thematic configurations in its conceptual framing and emerging directions shaping its organizational relevance.
The empirical basis is a bibliometric co-occurrence analysis of author keywords from 385 publications indexed in the Web of Science B&M category (2010–2025). Using VOSviewer, a network of 87 keywords was generated and grouped into six thematic clusters. The analysis integrates average publication year overlay visualization and normalized citation impact indicators to identify temporally differentiated patterns of thematic concentration and influence; for analytical clarity, the six clusters were interpreted as five broader thematic configurations.
Read through this temporal lens, the field exhibits a cumulative expansion in both the meaning and organizational role attributed to digital literacy: (1) An early configuration frames digital literacy primarily as a skills deficit associated with the digital divide, internet access, and public administration capacity. (2) A subsequent organizational capability configuration consolidates around technology adoption, digital transformation, innovation, leadership, and HRM, positioning digital literacy as a strategic capability supporting organizational continuity and competitiveness (particularly during Covid-19). (3) An industrial transformation configuration connects the construct to automation, Industry 4.0, and entrepreneurship, highlighting workforce readiness for structural economic change. (4) A socio-economic inclusion configuration embeds digital literacy within financial inclusion, fintech, and women’s entrepreneurship, reframing it as a condition for economic participation and market access. (5) The most recent configuration centers on AI literacy, where generative AI, ChatGPT, and digital leadership cluster around higher education and organizational contexts, signaling an emerging emphasis on managerial capability in AI-enabled environments.
While clarifying the emergence of AI literacy as an emerging conceptual frontier, the analysis identifies a central unresolved tension: whether AI literacy represents a sub-dimension of digital literacy, its contemporary expression, or a successor construct. Future research should focus on managerial competencies for AI adoption and governance, and on the organizational conditions that enable digital/AI literacy to translate into performance outcomes.
