A systematic literature review on network marketing: What do we know and where should we be heading?

Abstract

This study aims to synthesize the extant network marketing research and propose directions to advance this research domain. The key findings show that social cognitive theory and graph theory are the prominently used theories with the majority of research in this domain being conducted in the US. A qualitative method or a conceptual approach has been used mainly for network marketing research. The frequently reported antecedents, mediators, and consequences of network marketing include country-level, organizational, and individual attributes. Lexicometric analysis shows that the key themes of network marketing research are formats of network marketing and their characteristics, membership norms, and outcomes of network marketing. Theoretically, this systematic literature review (SLR) synthesizes the network marketing literature from multifarious perspectives and proposes a conceptual framework. Further, it contributes to advancing the network marketing domain by proposing future research directions in terms of theoretical underpinnings, characteristics, contexts, and methods. Our SLR also suggests pragmatic strategies to achieve effective outcomes for network marketing business.