Analysis of the Intellectual Structure of Studies of Knowledge Workers using Articles Indexed in Web of Science

Utilizing scientometric techniques to acquire an in-depth understanding of research on knowledge workers is a novel approach that can provide a comprehensive understanding of a wide range of published articles and research for researchers. The aim of this study was to analyze and map international scientific outputs in the realm of knowledge workers.

This applied research was performed using scientometric method through co-authorship and co-word analysis. This study examined 1976 articles on knowledge workers, indexed in the Web of Science from 1929 to 2021. These articles were analyzed using descriptive statistics methods in VOSviewer, PreMap, and BibExcel software.

There has been an upward trend in publishing articles on knowledge workers in the last ten years. According to the maps derived from the analysis of the studied documents, business economics, occupational health of the public environment and computer science were the most commonly used subjects in researching knowledge workers internationally. This study showed that the scientific map of knowledge workers consisted of 7 thematic clusters. The clusters were occupational characteristics of knowledge workers, contextual factors of the work environment, occupational maintenance factors, characteristics of communication between employees, health, motivational factors, knowledge management and general aspects of knowledge work, respectively.

Drawing co-word mapping in different studied periods indicated changes and constants in concepts and terms related to the field of knowledge workers. The paradigm was examined to identify the evolution of keywords, changed from focusing on the main factors of the difference between knowledge workers and other workers to psychological factors related to workers and motivational factors for retaining these workers.