# Data Spaces in Manufacturing and Supply Chains: A Review and Insights from European Initiatives
## 1 Introduction
While each has contributed to improving data exchange, none has fully resolved the systemic interoperability, scalability, governance, and trust challenges [27]. Centralized platforms often concentrate control in the hands of dominant actors, limiting participation by smaller firms [28]. EDI systems remain rigid and lack semantic depth [29], while cloud-based solutions typically reinforce enterprise-centric models and fall short of supporting decentralized, sovereign data sharing [30]. Fortunately, the concept of data spaces has recently emerged as a novel approach grounded in decentralization, semantic interoperability, and data sovereignty. Data spaces allow organizations to retain control over their data while sharing it under clearly defined usage policies [31]. Enabled by federated infrastructure and standardized governance frameworks, data spaces emphasize trust-by-design and enforce usage conditions through technical and contractual mechanisms. The European Union has recognized the strategic potential of data spaces, embedding them within its broader digital and industrial policy agendas [32; 33]. However, despite these developments, the academic literature on data spaces in manufacturing and supply chains remains sparse and fragmented. Moreover, unlike earlier solutions, which have been the subject of extensive scholarly analysis, data spaces lack a comprehensive consolidated review as reported in Table 1.  
The review of existing studies reveals three primary gaps: (1) fragmented theoretical perspectives with no unified framework for understanding data spaces; (2) limited empirical evidence on real-world implementations, particularly within European initiatives; and (3) few studies that bridge bibliometric trends, thematic analysis, and practical outcomes. To address these gaps, this study makes three contributions: a comprehensive mapping of academic research through a systematic literature review; practical insights from European initiatives by analyzing the structure and maturity of ongoing EU-funded data space projects; and an integrated agenda for future work by synthesizing theoretical and practical findings to propose standardized design approaches and areas for cross-sector collaboration. These contributions are operationalized via three Research Questions (RQs):  
1. _What are the bibliometric trends and patterns in the academic literature concerning data spaces in the context of manufacturing and supply chains_? 2. _What are the main thematic contributions and conceptual perspectives in the existing scientific literature on data spaces in this context_? 3. _What initial evidence and practical insights can be drawn from ongoing European initiatives developing and implementing data spaces in manufacturing and supply chains_? The remainder of this article is organized as follows: Section 2 presents the methodology used to conduct the literature review and collect data from European initiatives. Section 3 reports the answer to each RQ. Section 4 interprets the results to define potential future research areas and Section 5 concludes by summarizing key insights and outlining limitations.