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How Scientific Fields Evolve:
Evidence from Digital Economy Research

How do scientific fields evolve, particularly when the phenomenon they study changes because of technological change? This paper examines this question through the case of digital economy research, an interdisciplinary and policy-relevant field. I construct a unique dataset of 8,426 papers presented at 195 conferences between 1989 and 2024, enrich it with bibliographic metadata and abstracts, and complement it with historical evidence and expert interviews. Based on a structured empirical analysis, I develop a conceptual framework in which pioneers, enablers, and audiences drive field evolution across three stages: emergence, consolidation, and diversification. The findings show that the field emerged as pioneering scholars created conferences to connect dispersed research on digital technologies and their economic implications; consolidated through institutional support, funding initiatives, and improved data access; and diversified as it became increasingly engaged with disciplinary, industry, and policy audiences. The paper contributes to research on science of science, knowledge evolution, and field formation by developing a conceptual framework for field evolution and showing that conferences can operate as field-building infrastructures. It provides the first systematic empirical historiography of digital economy research.