Smart Governance, AI, and Social Indicators
TL;DR
A systematic bibliometric and scientometric review of global scientific production intersecting smart governance and social indicators from 2000 to 2026 reveals a major thematic shift: public management research is transitioning from purely technical performance metrics toward human-centric indicators such as social equity, transparency, and citizen satisfaction.
Abstract
In the era of digital transformation, public administrations are increasingly deploying artificial intelligence (AI) and automated systems to optimize organizational management. However, evaluating how these technological shifts translate into social indicators and citizen well-being remains a critical scientific and managerial imperative. This study presents a systematic bibliometric and scientometric review of global scientific production intersecting smart governance and social indicators from 2000 to 2026. A refined corpus of 1,604 peer-reviewed articles extracted from the Scopus database (restricted to Social Sciences, Economics, and Management) was computationally processed using the Bibliometrix package in R-Studio. The findings reveal a major thematic shift: public management research is transitioning from purely technical performance metrics toward human-centric indicators such as social equity, transparency, and citizen satisfaction. Conceptual mapping demonstrates that ethical algorithmic governance and data-driven accountability now drive modern organizational sustainability. Conclusively, this study synthesizes these research trajectories to provide public managers with a strategic framework reconciling administrative efficiency, public value, and social justice.