A Bibliometric Research Trend Analysis on Emerging Technology in the Textile Industry

Abstract

Textile industry research and practices must comprehend the state-of-the-art digital transformation to effectively coordinate future research efforts in this rapidly growing field of study. Thus, the current study conducts a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of the literature on the textile industry’s digital transformation. A total of 324 publications were assessed using the bibliometric analysis tools VOSviewer and the R package Bibliometrix. Articles were analyzed for author contributions, citation counts, trending scientific journals, keywords, academic affiliations, and country affiliations, as well as to identify the overall research trend in these fields since 2001. The evidence demonstrates that the United Kingdom, the United States, and China are the top three major nations, as reflected by the annual number of publications. The thematic network analysis indicates that in Industry 4.0, innovations such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, COVID-19, and sustainability are playing the role of push factor toward the digital transformation of the textile industry. The article concludes with a plea for more research.