An Invisible Network of Knowledge Production in the Electronic Commerce Field: Theory and Evidence

To map the intellectual structure of electronic commerce studies in this century, this study proposes a generic model of invisible network of knowledge through which the most important publications and the most influential scholars as well as the correlations among these publications can be identified. In this study, bibliometric and social network analysis techniques are used to investigate the intellectual pillars of the electronic commerce literature. By analyzing 28,470 citations of 1,333 articles published in SSCI and SCI journals in electronic commerce area between 2000 and 2006, this study maps an invisible network of knowledge of electronic commerce studies. The results of the mapping present a solid foundation for a knowledge network in electronic commerce area and help identify the invisible network of knowledge that traces the evolution of electronic commerce research.