To conduct the scientific mapping of research on technological adoption in the business sector, a search was done on Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus, which are considered the main databases worldwide (Bar-Ilan, 2008; Martín-Martín et al., 2018; Mongeon & Paul-Hus, 2016; Pranckuté, 2021). Comprehensive analysis through both tools allows for a broader overview of knowledge in a specific research area (Echchakoui, 2020; Zhu & Liu, 2020). In the search process, the following terms were used as references: "technology adoption" AND "firm*" or "industr*" or "enterprise*" or "organization*" or "business", considering publications registered between 2000 and 2022. This search generated 1264 records in Scopus and 601 in WoS (consultation date 01/15/2023), which were compared to establish duplicate data (469 records) and thus purify the data source, which in this case was consolidated into 1396 records.

The tools Bibliometrix (Aria & Cuccurullo, 2017) and Gephi (Mathieu et al., 2009) were used for data analysis and visualization. Bibliometrix version 3.1 was employed, which is a free open-access tool with functionalities that allow bibliometric studies, including author co-citation analysis, collaboration network analysis, document co-citation and co-word analysis, as well as facilitating work with different databases (Aria et al., 2020). This tool has been used in various studies (Dervis., 2020; di Vaio et al., 2021; Duque & Oliva, 2022; Homolak et al., 2020; Queiroz et al., 2020), generating reliability in its results. Subsequently, the documents were classified using the metaphorical Tree of Science (TOS) scheme through the ToS tool (Robledo et al., 2022; Valencia-Hernandez et al., 2020; Zuluaga et al., 2022). The scheme has three categories: Seminal documents representing the roots, structural documents representing the trunk, and clusters (current perspectives) representing the branches (Figure 5), allowing for visualization of this field's theoretical evolution.

As for the Gephi software, version 0.9.4 was used, which is a tool for network analysis that allows for a detailed visualization of how the different components of the co-citation network are interconnected, it also allows for the identification of indicators for each element in the network. This application has been used in accordance with previous studies (Donato, 2017; Donthu et al., 2020; Ferguson, 2012; Hurtado & Ortiz, 2022; Jacomy et al., 2014; Meier, 2020; Pineda Guerrero et al., 2021).

The network obtained from the documents found in the databases was divided into clusters, using the clustering algorithm proposed by Blondel et al. (2008), which allows documents to be classified into groups through co-citation analysis, thus establishing the main research fronts in this area (Chen, 2017). Subsequently, impact and relationship metrics such as Indegree (Wallis, 2007), Betweenness Centrality (Freeman, 1977), and PageRank (Page et al., 1999), were calculated for each document. The PageRank identifies the most representative and highest quality documents in each group, considering the citations received from other highly cited documents (Ding et al., 2009; Yan et al., 2010). Finally, using text mining programmed in R with the WordCloud package (Ohri, 2012), the titles and keywords of each work that integrates each cluster were taken to generate the word clouds that facilitate the identification of the topics they contain.

Based on the above, it is important to indicate that the methodological procedure used in this research is based on the structure suggested by Donthu et al. (2021), whose implementation is developed in four (4) stages, which are described in Figure 1. It has also been used in previous studies (Barrera et al., 2022; Castellanos et al., 2022; Duque et al., 2020, 2021; Hoyos et al., 2023; Loaiza et al., 2022; Restrepo et al., 2023; Robledo et al., 2023).

Figure 1

The results presented in Figure 2 show the trend in publications since 2000, segmented by database and calculated as a total after merging the records from the Scopus and WOS databases, considering the removal of duplicates. The trend reflects a steady increase in publications on innovation and technological adoption over the past two decades. This is evidenced by the average number of publications between 2000 and 2023, which has even reached up to 220 publications per year. The acceleration in the trend occurred after 2016, with an average of 111 publications between that year and 2022. Furthermore, approximately one in every two papers was published between 2018 and 2022. These results reflect the relevance of the topic and its current importance, indicating that the scientific and academic community is interested in expanding research in this important area.

Figure 2

Figure 3 graphically displays the journals with the highest number of publications in the field of innovation and technological adoption in organizations. This exercise provides a contrast between the Scopus and WOS databases, as their impact indicators are not homologous. Therefore, it is pertinent to present the individual impact indicators for each journal to provide a more comprehensive and complete view of their impact. The impact indicators of the journals are associated with the JIF (Journal Impact Factor) based on the data indexed in Web of Science Core Collection, the SJR (SCImago Journal Rank) calculated through the information reflected in the Scopus database, as well as the quartile in which they are classified in each database.

Figure 3

Based on the exercise previously described, it can be determined that the journal with the highest number of publications in the field is the North American journal Sustainability, with a total of 19 records. It is also classified in quartile 1 of both JIF and SJR indices, making it a highly impactful editorial. It is followed by Technological Forecasting and Social Change (a specialized journal in environment and technological factors) with 14 publications. In addition to these two journals, the other eight on the list are renowned journals, as 9 of them are classified in quartile 1 of the SCImago Journal Rank, making them reference journals in global research on innovation and technological adoption.

Table 1 shows the countries with the highest contribution to the field of innovation and technological adoption. Researchers from the United States contribute 393 publications, representing approximately 35.63 % of the global production in the field, followed by China with 132 publications, representing 11.97 %. These two nations are the main powers in the field, and when relating the top 10 most relevant journals in the field (Figure 3) with the country, it is established that 4 are from the United States and 6 from China. This list reveals that contributions to global research on innovation and technological adoption mainly come from these countries. Additionally, other nations such as the United Kingdom, India, Australia, Malaysia, Canada, Indonesia, Italy, and Taiwan contribute to a lesser extent but significantly on a global level.

Table 1

Based on the country collaboration network tool, it can be explained why researchers from the United States and China are the most prolific in terms of scientific production on innovation and technological adoption. This is because the support and collaboration between them are the strongest, with 4 out of every 10 articles published on the topic being authored by researchers from these regions. However, researchers from the United States have the highest number of co-authors from other countries, meaning they have a wider research network, which boosts their production.

Table 2 shows the most prolific authors in the field of innovation and technological adoption, relating their h-index and citations in Scopus and WOS. The author with the highest number of publications in the area is Albert P.C. Chan (The Hong Kong Polytechnic University), who has published a total of 6 articles in these databases, with an h-index of 70 in Scopus. Regarding the author with the highest impact indicators within this list, we find Viswanath Venkatesh from The University of Minnesota, who has an h-index of 65 and a total of 51871 citations in WOS, while in Scopus an h-index of 70 and 69947 citations; only in Scopus, his 5 registered articles report 959 citations, which means an average of more than 191 per article. It is worth noting that 13 out of the 20 authors in this list are affiliated with institutions in the United States, which is consistent with the previous findings.

Table 2

Author	WoS			Scopus			Total Publications
	Number of publications	H-index	Citations	Number of publications	H-index	Citations
Chan, Albert P.C.	NR	NR	NR	6	70	18.673	6
Daim, Tugrul	2	32	5.381	4	38	7.644	6
Darko, Amos	NR	NR	NR	6	27	3.263	6
Sepasgozar, Samad	4	27	1.957	6	28	2.267	6
Dasgupta, Subhasish	1	6	432	6	9	727	6
Venkatesh, Viswanath	5	65	51.871	5	70	69.947	5
Gupta, Babita	2	15	1.263	5	10	1.478	5
Chen, Hsin	NR	NR	NR	5	9	665	5
Versendaal, Johan	2	8	218	4	16	775	5
Eze, Sunday Chinedu	2	10	311	5	13	474	5
Kurnia, Sherah	NR	NR	NR	4	20	1.670	4
Tsou, Hungtai	3	14	943	4	16	1.294	4
Qureshi, Sajda	NR	NR	NR	4	18	1.232	4
Talea, Mohamed	NR	NR	NR	4	18	1.194	4
Mohamed Udin, Zulkifli	NR	NR	NR	4	10	443	4
Chinedu-Eze, Vera C.	2	8	141	4	14	294	4
Tanaka, Yasuhito	NR	NR	NR	4	8	285	4
Okar, Chafik	NR	NR	NR	4	7	144	4
Hattori, Masahiko	NR	NR	NR	4	4	37	4
Chouki, Marieme	1	1	19	4	3	32	4

NR: no record.

Figure 4 presents the co-citation and collaboration networks of authors. The first one expresses an author's influence within a scientific community through the impact of their research and the degree of referencing it receives. For this case, the five authors with the highest influence and considered seminal authors in innovation and technological adoption are Viswanath Venkatesh (University of Minnesota), Fred D. Davis (Texas Tech University), Everett M. Rogers (Ohio State University), Joseph Wang (University of California), and David Pope Anderson (University of California). The second network associates groups of researchers who have the highest number of publications as co-authors, and it is closely related to Table 2. For example, the group composed of Albert P.C. Chan and Darko A (the authors in positions 1 and 9 in the list of the highest number of publications on the topic) is the most important, as these researchers are co-authors of three articles (registered in the databases), while Chouki M and Okar C have two publications (the authors in positions 1 and 2 in the list of the highest number of publications on the topic). This demonstrates, as in the case of Chan, that collaborative work generates greater productivity.

Figure 4

One of the main research lines in technological adoption in the business sector is Knowledge Management, conceived as the generator of competitive advantages for organizations. Technological adoption brings multiple challenges for organizations, and it is considered that to promote innovation, it should not only focus on R&D but also complementary assets such as the underlying infrastructure (Teece, 1986). In other words, innovation should not be limited to the technological core, but an organizational integration should be proposed that focuses on different internal and external components (Ettlie & Reza, 1992). Therefore, to face the challenges that organizations are exposed to, it is essential to have human capital, an essential factor for individual, business, and socioeconomic growth, as well as for the adoption and adaptation of new technologies (Blundell et al., 1999).

Thus, it is recommended to strengthen the theoretical approaches that allow for the analysis of Knowledge Management in organizations, based on their capacity for resources and human capital with the required skills for this purpose. As a result, organizations can effectively manage knowledge by identifying, capturing, storing, mapping, disseminating, creating, and utilizing it to obtain the most advantageous benefits (Egbu et al., 2005).

However, organizations must strengthen their human capacities to face each challenge in terms of technological adoption, since failing to do so may cause even a leading company to lose not only technological leadership but also market leadership (Alderighi & Feder, 2021). Consequently, it is suggested that organizations carry out education campaigns to increase awareness of the benefits of technology adoption (Andaregie & Astatkie, 2022), since the adoption of technology and human capital are crucial determinants for organizational growth (Skare & Blazevic Buric, 2021).

In line with this, innovation, and particularly new technology, should be associated with the practices of organizations that stimulate employee participation, autonomy, and learning practices. Innovation can be understood as a phenomenon interrelated between working conditions and organizational practices (Mofakhami, 2022). This is considering the human capacity to obtain extraordinary results derived from a specific need, which has generated early adoption of technology and industrialization (Mokyr et al., 2022).

However, to effectively achieve knowledge management within organizations, it is essential to have committed administrators, as training requires specialists with skills that most companies lack, which can be costly (Canhoto & Clear, 2020), However, when directors can identify the potential to add value through new knowledge for the company, it favors decision-making concerning cost-benefit (Merendino et al., 2018).

In the process of technological adoption in organizations, it is essential to analyze the essential factors to achieve objectives and maximize results. In this analysis, it is possible to identify that one of the fundamental factors is the human being as the central axis in all aspects related to its development, adoption, and use.

Initially, it is pertinent to indicate that technology has gradually become a critical source of sustainable competitive advantages in organizations (Kim et al., 2008), and maintaining a competitive advantage in the current market is important for both companies and society (Jensen & Scheraga, 1998). It is worth noting that the advantage is characterized by the magnitude of the impact on the consumer (Mattila, 1999), that is, the results can be evidenced through acceptance and use, starting from its ease of use and utility for users (Morosan & Jeong, 2008).

Consequently, the human-organization-technology synergy should be considered as a general concept that allows to explain the heterogeneity of the incorporation of technology in organizational management (Xu & Lu, 2022), the customer-employee dyad interaction is a vital component in establishing a prosperous relationship based on the interactions that occur within it (Mattila, 1999). Therefore, the human being is not only conceived as an essential factor within the organization but is also relevant as an external factor, since consumer acceptance is the key to technology adoption (Liu et al., 2020).

Based on the previously mentioned, it is necessary to emphasize that the adoption of IT could lead companies to develop a competitive advantage, generating loyalty, brand awareness, brand knowledge, and perceived value in the consumer (Varelas et al., 2021), as long as the basic concept is considered that perceived usefulness is a determining factor for technology usability (Bianchi et al., 2022), meaning that the adoption of new IT must be appealing to the end user, their motivation, and the benefits it generates for them (Jajic et al., 2022).

Finally, organizations must strive to develop new IT, based on the knowledge of the effect it will generate on end users or customers (Licup & Materum, 2021), but for this objective to be successful, conviction and knowledge on the part of employees are necessary to link the synergy between these essential elements.

Currently, organizations face a globalized market and direct competition between companies worldwide. Additionally, they face increasing needs for operational renewal, especially regarding the adoption of innovative technologies that aim to meet the needs of customers, companies, employees, and users in general.

The above discussion shows that there is a wide range of variables that can influence the likelihood of an actor adopting an innovation (Wejnert, 2002), which contributes to the renewal of the company through its dynamic and reciprocal relationship with the competencies of the companies (Danneels, 2002), generating an integration between innovations, administrative, technological and product ideas, enhancing productive capacity (Abrahamson & Rosenkopf, 1997).

Hence, the integration of innovation and the implementation of new information technology are correlated with substantial advancements in the efficiency of operations in intricate industrial settings, as well as with a significant rise in the development of novel products, process enhancement, and exploration of avenues for growth (Xue et al., 2012). This means that products from high-tech industries generally have a strong influence on the abilities of managers to initiate and expand new businesses (Oakey & Cooper, 1991).

Consistent with the aforementioned description, it is presumed that the encouragement of any novel technology, which involves substantial research and development inputs and innovation, is a critical element for maintaining industrial growth in the twenty-first century (Oakey & Cooper, 1991), even facilitating the integration of companies into global value chains and placing them in a higher quality business environment (Vu et al., 2021), therefore, it is evident that companies could respond to market challenges by using new technologies and being more innovative (Nugroho et al., 2022).

It is noteworthy that the implementation of information technologies and the ability to innovate significantly affect organizational performance. However, this impact must be amplified and reinforced by skilled human resources through knowledge management and training programs (Sam' et al., 2022), since success in technology adoption and innovation often requires cooperation between individual actors and organizations. (Bentivoglio et al., 2021).

To conclude, it can be deduced that the adoption of novel technologies can facilitate both organizational efficiency and effectiveness, representing a crucial source of sustained competitive advantage for companies in the long run (Neumeyer et al., 2021). Therefore, entrepreneurs must take advantage of knowledge and technological developments to achieve results that add value to the organization (Ganotakis et al., 2021).

New technologies aim to respond to the solution of the problems and needs organizations are exposed to, generating alternatives that allow them to be more competitive, enhancing their operation, generating new products, attracting new customers, and venturing into new markets.

To illustrate the above, the use of intelligent applications proposed by different technologies such as blockchain and the cloud has strengthened data security processes, access policies, and support data privacy for organizations (Taherizadeh et al., 2018). Furthermore, other studies suggest that blockchain is a highly disruptive technology that could have the ability to reconfigure all aspects of society and its operations (Swan, 2015), which has increased its acceptance and use in large-scale business environments (Woodside et al., 2017).

Likewise, new technologies provide tools to protect organizations from attacks that compromise their security, information, and processes, such as cyber-attacks, which can be controlled with blockchain technology or cloud-based information (Kshetri, 2017). Therefore, it can be affirmed that blockchain technology and cloud-based information are emerging and potentially revolutionary technologies for the processes associated with businesses (Saberi et al., 2019).

Blockchain technology initially sought to solve problems in the financial sector, but thanks to its functionality and security, it has become a very attractive tool for solving problems in the non-financial industries (Crosby et al., 2016). The use of technology is associated with acceptance and its benefits, which in essence are the solutions for the challenges organizations face and its effective contribution to social inclusion in developing countries (Pilkington, 2016).

Nevertheless, the intention to adopt blockchain technology must be accompanied by the issues related to the development of technical capabilities for deployment (Kamble et al., 2019). In other words, to effectively leverage technological adoption and maximize the benefits that come with it, it is necessary to provide training, knowledge management, and technology skill development (Andaregie & Astatkie, 2022).