TITLE:
International Research on “Internet Philanthropy”: Evolutionary Trajectory, Hot Topics and Future Outlook (2000-2023)
AUTHORS:
Longlong Duan, Rui Liang, Qian Liu
KEYWORDS:
International Internet Philanthropy, Evolutionary Trajectory, Hot Topics, Frontier Outlook, Bibliometrics
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Applied Sociology,
Vol.15 No.11,
November
6,
2025
ABSTRACT: Internet philanthropy represents an effective model for the digital and decentralized transformation of traditional charitable practices. Having emerged earlier abroad, international internet philanthropy offers valuable theoretical and practical insights for China’s philanthropic development. Utilizing the CiteSpace bibliometric tool, this study conducted a panoramic knowledge map analysis of 2784 key international internet philanthropy research papers published between 2000 and 2023. Findings reveal: 1) The United States leads in internet philanthropy research. Globally, this field has progressed through three phases: a slow growth period, a fluctuating rise, and a rapid explosion; 2) Key international research topics center on four dimensions: motivational determinants of online giving, social media dissemination and utilization in online philanthropy, empirically grounded internet philanthropy governance, and corporate social responsibility fulfillment; 3) Emerging subfields indicate that human sperm donation, medical crowdfunding, and food banks have become frontier issues in international internet philanthropy research. Preliminary exploration of these topics can accelerate the transformation of China’s internet philanthropy sector—shifting from a singular focus on “fundraising” to maximizing public welfare value and reshaping the philanthropic ecosystem.