ABSTRACT
The chapter explores the intersection of service offshoring and digital internationalisation, providing a review of how multinational corporations (MNCs) leverage service offshoring for their internationalisation. Utilising science mapping analysis, a type of bibliometric analysis based on keyword co-occurrence, the study examines 554 articles published between 2004 and 2023, identifying 23 distinct themes and tracing their evolution over three subperiods. The findings highlight the field's progression from foundational themes such as “strategy” and “outsourcing” to specialised topics like “technological change” and “reshoring”. This thematic and quantitative evolution underscores the strategic role of service offshoring in facilitating digital transformation, enabling MNCs to enhance efficiency, access skilled labour, and integrate advanced technologies. Additionally, the analysis reveals trends in the volume of research, with a steady increase during the early years (2004–2013), peaking in 2013, followed by a gradual decline after 2018, potentially indicating a shift in focus to related areas of study. The study makes two key contributions: first, linking the concepts of service offshoring and digital internationalisation, offering a novel perspective seldom addressed in prior research; second, applying bibliometric analysis through keyword co-occurrence for the first time in this field, yielding a detailed thematic map of the research field.
