Social Value of Marketing: A Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to analyze studies that researched the social value of marketing, identifying the main research and the understanding of the theme. We performed a systematic literature review using the Web of Science database to select and analyze articles that investigated the social value of marketing. After the initial search with filters and exclusion criteria, the final sample consisted of 142 articles submitted to bibliometric analysis. The analysis of the literature revealed advances in the understanding of the social value of marketing. We made the connection between the four groupings of keywords and the five themes of the bibliographic coupling. This result revealed the various nuances of how the social value of marketing is addressed in the literature. The study proposes an agenda for future research, with topics such as social enterprise marketing, social value and consumers’ perception, charity, cause-related marketing, ethical consumption. This study reveals the connections between marketing and social issues, indicating that the social value of marketing tends to be the result of a combination of resources, capabilities, and behaviors that link marketing and the market to social value and society.