Digital trade has grown as an innovative economic strategy for the digitization of the trade sector, advancing beyond conventional and cross-border electronic commerce. It acts as a stimulant for the growth of international economic relations. This study seeks to thoroughly examine the effects of digitalization on international trade within the framework of international economic relations, emphasizing significant research contributions, scientific output by countries, frequently utilized keywords, emerging topics, and the conceptual and scientific structure of this domain. A bibliometric analysis was performed using VOS viewer, examining 557 research papers indexed in the Scopus database. The analysis identified the Russian Federation, China, and the United Kingdom as prominent hubs in digital commerce research, with the Russian Federation leading in contributions, followed by China. This highlights their roles in enhancing international trade relations, particularly among BRICS countries and with the rest of the world. These findings are corroborated by the bibliographic coupling and co-authorship networks, further underscoring the importance of interdisciplinary and international collaboration in the field. Additionally, the study explores prospective research directions. Moreover, this research also provides practical insights for scholars, policymakers, and businesses to enhance digital trade agreements and adapt to the digital era. Finally, emerging themes like blockchain, big data, cybersecurity, and Industry 4.0 offer a roadmap for future research.
Bazai et al. (Thu,) studied this question.