The evolution and trends in IT governance research: A bibliometric analysis

Information technology (IT) governance has become a crucial area of study because of the growing corpus of research in the area. This study aims to conduct both a literature review and bibliometric analysis focusing on three specific research questions: (RQ1) examining the trends in publications and citations, (RQ2) recognizing the most impactful countries, journals, and authors, and (RQ3) investigating popular research areas and trending topics in IT governance. Data surrounding IT governance research were obtained through the Scopus database, with a total of 1,510 documents published from 1995 to February 2023. The extracted documents were analysed using Harzing’s Publish or Perish, VOSviewer, and Bibliometrics sub-tool Biblioshiny software. Publications have continued to rise since 2004 when the United States has had the greatest influence over IT governance publication and research collaboration, while Indonesia is the most prolific. Primary sources on IT governance research were taken from conference proceedings related to IT topics. As for authors, Pereira R from Portugal is at the top of the list while Van Grembergen W from Belgium is the most influential. This study is the first to identify and propose themes and current hotspots in IT governance research which serves as a guide for future researchers and professionals.