Mapping research in marketing: trends, influential papers and agenda for future research

Abstract

Purpose – This study aims to map the conceptual structure and evolution of the recent scientific literature published in marketing journals to identify the areas of interest and potential future research directions. Design/methodology/approach – The 100 most influential marketing academic papers published between 2018 and 2022 were identified and scrutinized through a bibliometric analysis. Findings – The findings further upheld the critical role of emerging technologies such as Blockchain in marketing and identified artificial intelligence and live streaming as emerging trends, reinforcing the importance of data-driven marketing in the discipline. Research limitations/implications – The data collection included only the 100 most cited documents between 2018 and 2022, and data were limited only to Scopus database and restrained to the Scopus-indexed marketing journals. Moreover, documents were selected based on the number of citations. Nevertheless, the data set may still provide significant insight into the marketing field. Practical implications – Influential authors, papers and journals identified in this study will facilitate future literature searches and scientific dissemination in the field. This study makes an essential contribution to the marketing literature by identifying hot topics and suggesting future research themes. Also, the important role of emerging technologies and the shift of marketing toward a more data-driven approach will have significant practical implications for marketers. Originality/value – To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first comprehensive study offering a general overview of the leading trends and researchers in marketing state-of-the-art research.

Keywords

• Marketing
• Bibliometric analysis
• Citation analysis
• Research publications
• Science mapping
• Marketing