Vision, applications and future challenges of Internet of Things. A bibliometric study of the recent literature
| Pages | 1331-1355 |
| Date | 08 August 2016 |
| Published date | 08 August 2016 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-11-2015-0478 |
| Author | Deepa Mishra,Angappa Gunasekaran,Stephen J. Childe,Thanos Papadopoulos,Rameshwar Dubey,Samuel Wamba |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Information systems,Data management systems |
Vision, applications and future
challenges of Internet of Things
A bibliometric study of the recent literature
Deepa Mishra
Department of Industrial and Management Engineering,
IIT Kanpur, Kanpur, India
Angappa Gunasekaran
Department of Decision and Information Sciences,
Charlton College of Business, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth,
North Dartmouth, Massachusetts, USA
Stephen J. Childe
Plymouth Business School, Plymouth University, Plymouth, UK
Thanos Papadopoulos
Kent Business School, University of Kent, Chatham, UK
Rameshwar Dubey
Symbiosis Institute of Operations Management,
Symbiosis International University, Nashik, India, and
Samuel Wamba
NEOMA Business School, Mont-Saint-Aignan, France
Abstract
Purpose –The emergent field of Internet of Things (IoT) has been evolving rapidly with a geometric
growth in the number of academic publications in this field. The purpose of this paper is to review the
literature of IoT in past 16 years using rigorous bibliometric and network analysis tools, offering at
the same time future directions for the IoT research community and implications for managers and
decision makers.
Design/methodology/approach –The authors adopted the techniques of bibliometric and
network analysis. The paper reviewed the articles published on IoT from 2000 to 2015.
Findings –This study identifies top contributing authors; key research topics related to the field; the
most influential works based on citations and PageRank; and established and emerging research
clusters. Scholars are encouraged to further explore this topic.
Research limitations/implications –This study focusses only on vision and applications of IoT.
Scholars may explore various other aspects of this area of research.
Originality/value –To the best of authors’knowledge, this is the first study to review the literature
on IoT by using bibliometric and network analysis techniques. The study is unique as it spans a long
time period of 16 years (2000-2015). The study proposes a five-cluster classification of research themes
that may inform current and future research in IoT.
Keywords Vision, Internet of Things, Bibliometrics, Applications, Network analytics
Paper type Literature review
1. Introduction
Recent years have witnessed the growing use of internet as billions of people browse
the web to access multimedia content and services, send and receive electronic mails,
play games, and perform various tasks. This use creates a global platform for machines
Industrial Management & Data
Systems
Vol. 116 No. 7, 2016
pp. 1331-1355
©Emerald Group Publis hing Limited
0263-5577
DOI 10.1108/IMDS-11-2015-0478
Received 25 November 2015
Revised 22 March 2016
Accepted 24 April 2016
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0263-5577.htm
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and smart objects to communicate, dialogue, compute, and coordinate (Miorandi
et al., 2012), which in turn builds up a strong connection among the users of smart
devices worldwide. Apart from connecting the users to the internet, these devices play
a crucial role in linking up the physical world with the cyber world (Conti et al., 2012).
This has given birth to the next generation of embedded ICT systems, commonly
known as cyber-physical systems (CPS) (Poovendran, 2010; Park et al., 2012), which
integrate computational devices with the physical environment. CPS is composed of
four technologies: automation of knowledge work, Internet of Things (IoT), advanced
robotics, and autonomous/near-autonomous vehicles. Looking at the economic value
generated by these technologies, it can be clearly observed that IoT, with an estimated
value of 36 trillion of dollars, creates the highest economic impact (McKinsey Global
Institute, 2013).
The term “IoT”came into existence when Kevin Ashton used it for the first time in
1999 to represent the globally emerging internet-based information service architec ture
(Ashton, 2009). Weber (2009) defined IoT as “an emerging global, Internet-based
information service architecture facilitating the exchange of goods in global supply
chain networks […] on the technical basis of the present Domain Name System; drivers
are private actors.”IoT facilitates a safe and trustworthy way of exchanging
information related to goods and services in a global supply chain. It acts as a pillar for
ubiquitous computing that opens the door for smart environments to spot and track
items, and collect information from the internet for their proper functioning. In doing
so, members of MIT Auto-ID Center developed Electronic Product Code that serves as a
universal identifier for any specific item (Gama et al., 2012; EPC Global Inc., 2011).
The main objective behind this development was to spread awareness abou t the use of
radio-frequency identification (RFID) globally. But, these days, the idea of “Thing”is
not only restricted to RFID. It has expanded to include any real or physical object
(e.g. RFID, sensor, actuator, smart item), “spime”data object as well as any virtual or
digital system, which is capable of moving in time and space. These entities can be
identified uniquely through the identification details (numbers, names, and/or location
addresses) assigned to them. Thus, the “Thing”can be read, recognized, located,
addressed and controlled effortlessly by using Internet (Borgia, 2014).
IoT has simplified our day-to-day lives by creating smart objects, applications, and
services, which ensure safety and security during the information exchange process.
Indeed, IoT has the ability to influence economic activity across industries and affect
their strategic decisions, investments, and productivity (Borgia, 2014). Mandel (2014)
visualized that US GDP will approximately increase by 2-5 percent by the end of 2025.
At present, digital industries contribute about 20 percent of the GDP while the rest
80 percent comes mainly from physical industries, i.e., agriculture, construction,
manufacturing, energy, transportation, and healthcare. Therefore, IoT aims to
transform the way in which physical industries do business by connecting them to the
computerized world.
In recent years, scholars (Borgia, 2014; Whitmore et al., 2014; Madakam et al., 2015;
Russo et al., 2015) have attempted to review the literature on IoT by focussing on its
vision, concepts, applications and features. Although these studies have provided
insight into the field of IoT, they have not conducted additional analysis via rigorous
bibliometric and network analytics tools. Such an analysis can help in refining the
established and emerging areas of research, and in researchers acknowledging
the different schools of thought and relevant applications of IoT. Moreover, the
meaning of the term “IoT”itself is continuously evolving since the technologies and
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