From theoretical essentials to paradigms: the development path of electronic commerce research

To examine the development path of electronic commerce research, this study proposes a generic bibliometric model through which the most important documents and the most influential scholars are identified and presented as a solid foundation for a knowledge network in the electronic commerce area. Such a model helps identify the invisible knowledge network that traces the evolution of electronic commerce research, and provides a valuable tool for researchers to access the literature in this area. Furthermore, this model can be extended to explore the research path of other emerging fields, which is important for future interdisciplinary studies.