Product Digital Twins (DTs) are digital representations of a physical asset that update synchronously throughout its lifecycle. Over the past decade, a rich and varied literature on the development of new technologies and approaches to implementing product DTs has emerged. This literature has been reviewed multiple times, but the variety in focus and scope of DT reviews has become so extensive that it is challenging to assess our collective understanding and knowledge of DT theory. We address this issue by conducting a systematic umbrella review of product DT reviews, classifying and analysing review themes to understand strengths and shortcomings of product DT literature. Our analysis reveals a key shortcoming in the product DT literature: There is currently little evidence and understanding of DT value. Understanding how DTs provide value to an organisation is of paramount importance, as it will determine the elements of the DT that truly have an effect on value, as well as the mechanisms by which that value is created. We conclude this work by presenting a five-item research agenda to address these shortcomings and develop our understanding of DT value. Since DTs can be complex and expensive to implement, research and practice should focus on those elements of the DT that provide value to the organisation.

中文翻译：

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产品数字孪生：了解其价值的总体审查和研究议程


产品数字孪生 (DT) 是物理资产的数字表示，在整个生命周期中同步更新。在过去的十年中，出现了关于新技术开发和实施产品 DT 方法的丰富多样的文献。这些文献已被多次审查，但 DT 审查的焦点和范围的多样性已经变得如此广泛，以至于评估我们对 DT 理论的集体理解和知识具有挑战性。我们通过对产品 DT 评论进行系统性的伞式评论来解决这个问题，对评论主题进行分类和分析，以了解产品 DT 文献的优点和缺点。我们的分析揭示了产品 DT 文献中的一个关键缺陷：目前对 DT 价值的证据和理解很少。了解 DT 如何为组织提供价值至关重要，因为它将决定真正对价值产生影响的 DT 元素，以及创造价值的机制。我们通过提出一个包含五个项目的研究议程来结束这项工作，以解决这些缺点并加深我们对 DT 价值的理解。由于 DT 的实施可能很复杂且成本高昂，因此研究和实践应重点关注 DT 中为组织提供价值的那些元素。