A bibliometric review on digital inclusion and inequalities at work: Scope and future perspectives

Abstract

The fast spread of digital technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), and algorithmic management systems has redefined modern workplaces, casting important directives on digital inclusion and the new forms of inequalities in the workplace. As much as digital transformation brings efficiency, innovation, and new jobs, it is a source of increased inequalities in terms of skills, gender, access, and algorithmic bias. Although there is an increase in the scholarly focus, the intellectual framework and developmental path of this field of research are still in pieces. The proposed study is thus an attempt to identify the scope, development, and future of the field of digital inclusion and inequalities in the workplace by a systematic literature review. The research is based on the technology acceptance theory, the digital divide theory, and the sociotechnical systems theory, all of which describe the individual adoption patterns, the structural gaps in access and results, and the interplay between the technological systems and the organizational settings. The major source of data was the Scopus database. Based on the PRISMA protocol, 303 relevant documents were identified, screened and analyzed in VOSviewer software to conduct citation, co-citation and keyword co-occurrence analysis. The results reveal that there has been a marked increase in publications, especially since 2020. The field has an intellectual structure around important themes such as AI adoption, digital skills, engagement at the workplace, gender disparities, digital health, and algorithm governance. The findings also indicate the conceptualization of the individual-level technology acceptance models to the structural and institutional levels of inequality, inclusion, and workforce sustainability. The research has a contribution to theory because it combines isolated views into a harmonious intellectual map and points out new research frontiers. These results highlight the necessity of the inclusive digital policy, reskilling based on target actions, and ethical AI regulation objectives to avoid the further expansion of disparities in the workplace.