# From Transactions to Transformations: A Bibliometric Study on Technology Convergence in E-Payments
## 4 Result Analysis
### Descriptive Analysis
This reflects a surge in e-payment solutions and research due to factors like the COVID-19 pandemic, which accelerated the move towards contactless payments and heightened interest in digital financial solutions. Figure 4 represents various academic journals and their respective contributions to the field of e-payment technology, as measured by the number of documents or papers published. The vertical axis lists the names of the journals, which range from specialized publications like _Electronic Commerce Research and Applications_ to broader journals like _Sustainability_ and _IEEE Access_. The horizontal axis represents the number of documents published, providing a quantitative measure of each journal's output in the area of e-payment. The size of the bubble for each journal correlates with the number of documents published--the larger the bubble, the greater the number of publications. _Decision Support Systems_ appears to be the leading source, with the highest number of documents, followed by _Internet Research_ and _Industrial Management and Data Systems_. These journals strongly focus on the technological and managerial aspects of e-payment systems. _Electronic Commerce Research_ and the _Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce_ are more specialized. Still, they also make notable contributions to the field, as indicated by the size of their publications. Figure 3: Annual scientific production of research articles focused on e-payment technology. Figure 5a,b depict the prevalence and intensity of various research topics in e-payment technology from 1990 to 2008. It illustrates the topics of interest and how these interests have changed over time, reflecting the technological advancements and shifts in the digital economy. Here is a detailed interpretation with relevance to the periods:  
Early 1990s: Topics such as \"computer\" and \"language\" appear early on, which likely correlates with the foundational research in computer science and programming languages necessary to develop the first digital payment systems. Mid to Late 1990s: The emergence of the \"World-Wide Web\" as a research topic is in line with the public adoption of the internet during this period. The internet's rapid expansion provided a platform for online transactions and thus became a focus for e-payment research. \"EDI\" (Electronic Data Interchange) had a spike in research interest, which fits the timeline wherein businesses were adopting this technology for B2B transactions before the advent of modern internet-based e-payment systems. \"Sales tax\" research peaked, likely in response to the emergence of e-commerce and the resulting legal and economic discussions about how to apply traditional taxation to online sales. Early 2000s: \"Electronic marketplaces\" see a rise, corresponding with the dot-com bubble where numerous online marketplaces emerged and significant interest was in understanding and optimizing e-commerce platforms. \"Internet commerce\" peaks in research interest, aligning with the growth of e-commerce and the need for secure, efficient online payment methods. \"Information technology\" remains a steady area of focus, supporting the backbone of e-payment solutions as they become more sophisticated. Mid 2000s: \"Business value\" becomes a significant topic. As e-payment technologies matured and their adoption increased, there was a growing need to assess their impact on business performance and consumer behavior. \"Sites\" and \"issues\" related to e-commerce and e-payments gain attention, possibly due to the increasing complexity of online transactions and the challenges faced such as fraud, security, and privacy. Late 2000s: \"Organizations\" and \"constructs\" suggest a shift towards understanding the strategic and structural aspects of e-payments within organizations, indicating a move from technical to more organizational and managerial aspects of e-payment systems.