Journal Of Marketing Research Articles

Emotion as Cause, Effect, Mediator, and Moderator in Marketing: An Integrative Review and Future Research Directions

ABSTRACTThe study aims to synthesize four decades of research on emotions in marketing by delving into the specifics of who, where, how, what and when. Using quantitative and qualitative methods, 453 articles from top marketing journals were analysed. The study first presents a descriptive account of publication and citation metrics and theoretical underpinning, resolving contestation around emotion function as cause, effect, mediator and moderator. Secondly, using science mapping, along with performance and content analysis landscape of emotion research is unravelled by identifying eight clusters. These clusters placed on development timelines provide a bird's eye view and are presented on a three‐level categorization: Theory, Characteristics and Context. Clusters 1 and 2 focus on theoretical underpinning of emotion interrelationship with cognition and construal. Clusters 3 and 4 emphasized unique characteristics of emotion as antecedents and outcomes to/of evaluations/behaviours. Clusters 5, 6, 7, and 8 emphasized distinct emotional settings—notably, cluster 5 accounts for emotion interaction across service encounters and elements of service interface. Cluster 6 emphasizes effectiveness, advantage and measurement of emotion in advertising. Cluster 7 highlights how emotions are profoundly shaped by and influence social interactions/behaviour, and Cluster 8 underscores emotion embedded in brands, products and life experiences. Finally, a diverse yet unified field of emotion research in marketing is advocated by reflecting on findings, identifying opportunities for cross‐pollination, highlighting cluster‐specific future research directions and developing an integrative framework. The framework, beyond decision‐making, synthesizes distinct ways emotion arises and permeates marketplace and accounts for alternate lenses to emotion functioning, promoting newer research.

From Corporate Artification to Artification in the Third Sector

ABSTRACTArtification refers to the process by which objects, practices, or entities not traditionally considered art are transformed into socially accepted art forms. A common example is graffiti, which was once regarded as vandalism but has since evolved into a recognized and celebrated form of art, but organizations and brands can also engage in artification strategies. This special issue of the Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing explores the concept of artification, with a particular focus on its application within the third sector. The six papers in this issue examine how artification fosters creativity, innovation, and social impact in non‐profits. Through case studies and empirical research, the issue demonstrates how third‐sector organizations, such as arts and culture institutions, charities, and foundations, can leverage artification not only to support the arts but also to enhance their legitimacy, build stronger community relationships, and increase credibility with stakeholders. The special issue examines studies on artification in both non‐profit organizations and corporate initiatives, emphasizing how art fosters social sustainability through creative partnerships. Collectively, these papers underscore the transformative potential of artification in the third sector, offering valuable insights for non‐profits seeking to integrate art into their strategic initiatives and enhance their social impact.

Citation Analysis of Marketing Research: Key Contributions and Future Directions

Citation analysis measures the relative importance or impact of an author, article, or publication by counting the number of times other works have cited it. This research conducted a thorough examination within the marketing academic field, exploring the most cited articles and authors, the most published authors, publishing countries, universities, and the years with maximum contributions. The methodology involved selecting the top ten marketing journals based on the Scimago Journal and Country Rank (as of April 29, 2024). Data were collected from the Scopus database, encompassing 12,445 journal articles and 782,442 cited references. The results revealed Barry J. Babin as the most prolific author with 447 articles. The most cited article was "Uniting the Tribes: Using Text for Marketing Insight" with 772 citations. The United States led with 67,302 publications and 2,500,668 citations, while the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School, had the highest number of publications at 235 articles. As of December 2019, Philip Kotler was identified as the most cited author in marketing, with 75,355 citations for his paper "Marketing Management: A South Asian Perspective" since 2009. This analysis provides valuable insights into the recent trends and future directions in the marketing field, highlighting significant contributions and influential works. However, the study's scope was limited to the top ten marketing journals from the SciMago list. Future research should consider a broader range of journals to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the marketing discipline.

Which are the most influential marketing journals for Latin American researchers? A journal co-citation analysis

Which are the most influential marketing journals for Latin American researchers? A journal co-citation analysis

Sustainability communication in marketing: a literature review

Purpose This study aims to explore the foundations and current research streams of sustainability communication (SC) within the marketing field through a comprehensive analysis of the existing literature. Furthermore, it identifies promising areas, gaps, and guides for future contributions in SC literature. Design/methodology/approach This study relies on a sample of 103 articles published in high-ranked marketing journals. Through co-citation and qualitative thematic analyses, it examines a network over the foundations and central themes in current literature. Findings In the marketing field, the foundations of SC rest on institutional and stakeholder theories, corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication and its effectiveness, green advertising, ethical consumerism and marketing strategies, and social marketing for sustainable consumption. Additionally, the analysis reveals four core current themes: reporting sustainability, sustainability advertising, consumer reactions, and promoting pro-sustainable behaviour. Research limitations/implications This paper defines the foundations and boundaries of SC in marketing based on a comprehensive evaluation of existing research. By doing so, it offers a valuable reference for future research, enabling scholars to understand better the past and current state of SC in marketing and to identify areas for further investigation. Practical implications Businesses and marketers can use the findings to develop more effective SC strategies and to focus on the main topics that require their attention. Social implications This research is of societal importance because it deepens our understanding of SC in marketing. It illuminates uncharted territory and helps decision-makers across sectors create a more sustainable future. In essence, this research enriches society by promoting sustainability awareness and guiding the development of practices that emphasize the value of SC. Originality/value This study advances previous literature reviews on SC in the marketing field by providing a roadmap for researchers to delve deeper and contribute to the field of SC in marketing, advancing our understanding of the importance of organizations effectively communicating their sustainability strategies to stakeholders.

Sketching a comprehensive picture of the marketing discipline: a bibliometric analysis covering eight top-tier journals

Purpose This study aims to examine marketing trends spanning a period of 26 years to scrutinize North American influence in marketing research, as well as enhance comprehension of interdisciplinary marketing knowledge and identify prominent scholars, universities, countries, and articles that warrant further scholarly exploration. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses bibliometric methods to analyze the publications of eight top-tier journals (Journal of Marketing, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Marketing Science, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Consumer Psychology and International Journal of Research in Marketing) between 1996 and 2021, as found in the Scopus database. Findings The findings indicate that North American hegemony in the marketing discipline continues and that the impact of marketing on other disciplines remains controversial. Some universities have a deeply rooted tradition of marketing departments. Some articles from 26 years ago are still frequently cited. Research limitations/implications The study covers the period from 1996 to 2021. It includes only articles, uses a single database and is cross-sectional. Future research should explore longer time periods by using various databases for comprehensive analysis. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study constitutes one of the first attempts to understand the scholarly contributions of the marketing discipline by considering eight top-tier journals.

Developing a global B2B strategy for products and services management: practical guidance from the field

PurposeThis study aims to examine the challenges of developing a global business-to-business (B2B) offering from an emerging economy (Chile) during an internationalization endeavor. This study analyzes the development and management of an offering evolving from local to global.Design/methodology/approachThe data were collected via an in-depth interview (105 min).FindingsThe interviewee presented a mixed of interesting marketing and/or marketing-related decisions (e.g. marketing–sales interface and marketing capabilities development) that support the internationalization of a firm and consequently its offering.Research limitations/implicationsThe data represent a practical, ongoing rationalization of the events perceived by a manager. New theory can emerge from further exploring identified research opportunities.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that an emerging economy firm can gradually transition toward a multinational condition by coordinating a series of marketing and/or marketing related decisions, where the CMO (i.e. maximum marketing authority in the organization) plays an essential role.Originality/valueThis study brings the voice of practitioners to an academic environment and serves as an innovative effort to analyze B2B practitioners’ reality from a scholarly perspective. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first one of the new series “Practitioners Insights” in the Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing.

Bibliometrics of Brand-related Social Media Content

This study presents bibliometric analysis of brand-related content on social media. By filtering by topic in the WOS database, publications between 2000 and 2021 on two types of social media content, firm-generated content (FGC) and user-generated content (UGC), are examined. For FGC, 47 articles in the database are reviewed, while 3502 articles are included in the analysis for UGC. The research results found that while the FGC studies of the researchers mainly were “Business,” the UGC articles were “Computer Science Information Systems” predominantly. In addition, the journal that gives the most place to studies with the FGC topic is the Journal of Marketing. On the other hand, the journals New Media & Society and Sustainability published 46 articles each for UGC studies. As a result of the co-word network analysis, although there were five themes in the map of the FGC articles, more than ten themes were found in the map of the UGC articles. The research results are expected to shed light on researchers who will work on brand-related social media content in the following years.

A Narrative Review of LGBTQ+ Marketing Scholarship

Marketing research on LGBTQ+ people has increased over the past two decades, entering mainstream marketing discourse – aligning with greater societal acceptance. This paper provides a contemporary review of marketing scholarship on LGBTQ+ communities published in Q1, and Q2 ranked Scimago marketing journals. Taking a social justice lens, this review examined whose voices were represented and how those voices were represented. The finding suggests samples studied were skewed towards heterosexual samples and those from the Global North. Where LGBTQ+ samples have been included, these were predominantly gay men. Three theoretical perspectives were adopted: attitudes and identity, meaning and interpretation and critical perspectives. In addition, the focus of the studies centred on four main themes: LGBTQ+ imagery in advertising, consumer behaviour of LGBTQ+ people, brand positioning and LGBTQ+ as a consumer market segment. Based on the findings, future scholarship should consider nuancing the multidimensional nature of the LGBTQ+ markets and investigates LGBTQ+ consumers as individuals with real and unique needs in their own rights.

마케팅 분야 ESG 연구의 동향분석 및 향후 연구방향

For academic development, it is important to systematically classify prior research and quickly grasp the research trends accordingly. This process provides insight into the importance and meaning of related topics and helps researchers materialize research problems and predict new research directions. However, amid the change in the corporate management paradigm from shareholder capitalism to stakeholder capitalism, ESG research is being actively conducted in the marketing field, but it is difficult to find a study that systematically analyzed ESG research trends in the field. Therefore, this study aims to explore the overall trends of ESG research published in domestic marketing journals through integrated analysis using systematic literature review and text mining analysis. Specifically, we would like to examine which topics ESG research is currently being conducted in the domestic marketing field and which research methodologies are mainly used. And through this, we intend to contribute to expanding the research base in this field by suggesting the shortcomings and future research directions of ESG research being conducted in the domestic marketing field.

Luxury and Fashion Marketing: A New Wave in the Sea of Marketing

Purpose of the study: The purpose of the study is to present a systematic literature review pertaining to luxury and fashion marketing, how the brands are influencing customers in purchasing in this regard authors have made an humble attempt to trace out the basic issues involved in luxury and fashion marketing to summarise the existing works which helps to identify the important research gaps which help to address future research studies. Design/ Methodology/ Approach: Authors have used content analysis method to organize the literature review pertaining to luxury and fashion marketing, by closely examining the research articles available in this domain. Besides, authors have used inclusion and exclusion criteria to select the research articles. The articles has been collected from repute journals like Sage, Emerald insights, articles published in leading marketing journals and data bases like Ebsco host is used to collect the published works. Findings of the Study: It was observed that a conceptual framework has to be developed to examine closely how luxury brands are influencing the consumer buying behavior, but still it remain unclear. The review presents the concept of luxury and fashion marketing, influence of brands on purchase decisions and also made an attempt to depict models and theories available from previous studies. The classification of research work helps us to understand the current trends and patterns of research in luxury and fashion marketing. Finally, article helps to identify research gap in luxury and fashion marketing also helps to structure the direction for future research works in luxury and fashion marketing. Shortcomings/Implications of the study: Authors of the article suggest that conceptual dimensions should be included in further studies, in this article only existing works get reviewed and implications of the study helps academicians and scholars to conduct the research, managers of companies can use key facts and principle findings of the study as base for developing their marketing strategies. Originality/ Value: The present article provides a comprehensive knowledge about luxury and fashion marketing and also helps to understand the current status of research work and works done so far in this domain.

The role of critical conceptual contributions in academic marketing journals

The role of critical conceptual contributions in academic marketing journals

Customer engagement strategies within family businesses in emerging economies: A multi-method study

Customer Engagement (CE) research has been growing considerably over time, however, most of this research emanates from developed economies and large organizational contexts. Little is known about CE strategies when it comes to family-owned businesses in emerging market context. This paper tries to synthesize the extant literature on CE to identify the state of research concerning CE practices followed in family-owned businesses from emerging markets. To achieve this objective, we first conducted a structured literature review of CE research published in last two decades in the top tier management and marketing journals. Second, drawing from the insights received from the findings of the structured review, we design a structured interview schedule to collect first-hand data from the managers working in family-owned businesses in India. This rich data is then analyzed using a qualitative data analysis package. Findings from our analysis reveal that social media platforms, continuous monitoring of the customer feedback and reviews, importance to non-financial goals, safeguarding the reputation, and maintaining the trustful relationship are critical aspects of family-owned firms’ CE strategy. Another interesting aspect about the CE strategies in family businesses vis-à-vis non-family-businesses, specifically from an emerging country context is the reliance on the third-party agencies to manage the content creation and digital marketing. Study findings not only help advance the scholarship within the twin fields of customer engagement and family business, but also provide valuable insights to the practitioners of family-owned businesses.

Fact or fake: information, misinformation and disinformation via social media

ABSTRACT In this special issue ‘Fact or Fake: Information, Misinformation, and Disinformation via Social Media’, the Journal of Strategic Marketing presents a collection of papers that delve into various topics aimed at gaining a comprehensive understanding of the impacts of fake news on social media. The objective of this special issue is to enhance our comprehension of marketing theory and practice concerning solutions, prevention, and the effects of fake news propagated through social media platforms. The topics covered within the special issue include, but are not limited to (1) Organizational and regulatory strategies to counter the dissemination of false news on social media; (2) The influence of fake news on social media on consumer behavior; (3) The correlation between social media fake news, consumer perceptions of credibility and trustworthiness, and their self-efficacy in relation to purchasing intentions; (4) The phenomenon of an ‘infodemic’ characterized by disinformation and misinformation in the digital age; and (5) Perceptions of credibility surrounding disinformation and intentions to share such content across social media platforms.

Relationship and variation of dimensions in gamified experiences associated with the predictive model using GAMEX

Gamifying educational practices is a trend in the field of education, especially in universities. Knowing which dimensions are significant in active gamified methodologies allows understanding the extent to which a dimension depends on another if there is a correlation between them. Through the GAMEX (gameful experience in gamification) scale, which measures gamified experiences (Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier 43:98–115, 2018), the aims of this study were to: 1) explore, using the structural equations model, the viability of the GAMEX model formulated to analyse the gamified experience level of university students; and 2) determine the influence of the GAMEX variables on the students’ degree of mastery in gamified experiences. The sample was constituted by 405 university students. A structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis was carried from a PLS (partial least squares) approach, using SmartPLS software. The results show the reliability of the different constructs considered in the proposed model. The items presented acceptable reliability levels and strong consistency with the dimensions of the model. The model emphasises the multidimensional character of gamified experience and supports the students’ mastery over the different gamified experiences.

“Converging on a new theoretical foundation for selling” five years later: emerging priorities, new applications, & directions for ongoing research

PurposeNot that long ago, half of all sales research was demonstrably if not unequivocally “atheoretical” (Williams and Plouffe, 2007). The foundational argument of this paper is that stronger theoretical development and application of theory in sales research is critical for the sales field to retain its relevancy. The purpose of this paper is to underscore that deliberate and cogent application of HWV (2018) is scant in the recent sales literature (over five years after publication in Journal of Marketing) for one or both of two reasons: scholars either do not understand the paper and/or are fearful of (mis)applying it.Design/methodology/approachMore than simply introducing the articles to this special issue of the European Journal of Marketing (EJM), this paper also makes a number of important, overdue contributions. Although Hartmann, Wieland and Vargo’s JM (HWV, 2018) theoretical and conceptual paper has been well-received by the sales community, it has seen limited meaningful integration or application in sales research since its publication. This paper thus clarifies key misunderstandings and misperceptions with HWV (2018) so that sales researchers can more impactfully apply it to future sales research.FindingsThis paper identifies and then explains key aspects of service-dominant logic (S-D logic) and commonly misapplied and/or misunderstood aspects of HWV (2018) to guide future sales research. Ultimately, the overarching goal of this special issue of EJM is to focus a “spotlight” on sales theory development, while simultaneously demonstrating – through the five articles the special issue reports – that with purposeful effort, rich theoretical insights can effectively be applied to both “classic” and more current and emergent sales research topics.Research limitations/implicationsBecause HWV (2018) draw heavily upon S-D logic, it follows that some aspects of their article have been misinterpreted or misapplied by sales scholars. In particular, the critical concept of “crossing points” (both of the “thick” and “thin” variety) are explicated and detailed further, so as to afford sales researchers with better knowledge and insight on how to apply these key tools within HWV (2018).Practical implicationsThe practical implications of this paper primarily revolve around further educating and clarifying for sales researchers “how” to better apply HWV (2018) to sales research, rather than simply citing it in passing. The paper also concludes by providing a summary and introduction to each of the five EJM special issue articles.Originality/valueThe originality and value of this paper and this special issue of the EJM is twofold. First, both this paper and the entire special issue itself emphasize the ongoing importance of advancing sales research through the meaningful and cogent application of theory. Second, the paper demonstrates that purposeful effort can lead to successful applications of HWV (2018) – as exhibited by the five articles in the EJM special issue – such that rich theoretical insights can be woven into both traditional and contemporary sales research topics.

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

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.

Gentle whispers of women: An epistemological study of gender studies in marketing across 25 years

Gender studies is a complex, interdisciplinary field that delves into the impact of societal and cultural norms on gender-related aspects of society. In terms of marketing communications, gender studies are widely discussed across every sub-branch of marketing, including consumer behaviour, advertising, product development and brand communication. Nonetheless, the question of whether this issue has been given sufficient scientific analysis in both academia and in business remains a matter of debate. This epistemological study conducts a keyword analysis of the articles published in the top ten marketing journals over the last 25 years. In general, the articles in the sample group are found to focus on the relationship between gender and marketing mix, brand communication, corporate behaviour, consumer behaviour and stereotypes. While many countries are insensitive to gender inequality, it is thought that international publications should give more importance to studies focusing on women in particular, and it is seen that few studies focusing on gender are included in the research conducted. By analysing research that focuses on gender, this study aims to support marketing professionals for better marketing practices.

Conceptual Contributions in Marketing Scholarship: Patterns, Mechanisms, and Rebalancing Options

This article analyzes the nature and temporal change of conceptual contributions in marketing scholarship with two complementary studies. First, based on a computer-aided text analysis of 5,922 articles published in the four major marketing journals between 1990 and 2021, the authors analyze how conceptual contributions have changed over time using the MacInnis (2011) framework. Results indicate that over the past three decades, theorizing efforts have strongly favored “envisioning” and “explicating” at the expense of “relating” and “debating,” with this imbalance increasing over time. Second, the authors draw on 48 in-depth interviews with editors, department heads, and authors to validate these patterns and uncover the underlying mechanisms. The findings indicate that a prevalent thought style has developed in the field—defined by the research ideals of novelty, clarity, and quantification—that shapes the collective view of how marketing scholars, in their roles as authors, reviewers, and mentors, can make a valuable contribution to marketing scholarship. This thought style favors envisioning and explicating contributions and disfavors relating and debating contributions. Jointly, the two studies point to several rebalancing options that can reinvigorate relating and debating contributions while preserving the current strengths of the marketing field.

The role of ethics in business-to-business marketing: An exploratory review and research agenda

Despite the prominence of ethics in mainstream marketing literature, its position in business-to-business (B2B) marketing continues to be underrepresented. In this article, we conduct a systematic literature review to investigate the role of ethics in business-to-business (B2B) marketing. First, we evaluate how ethics-related topics have evolved in the B2B marketing literature, primarily focusing on how the different marketing journals have addressed this topic and also considering the geographical representation of ethics-based research. We achieve this by using established best practice review methodologies. Our review revealed that research on ethics in B2B marketing could be distilled into five broad themes: ethical leadership, ethical behavior, relational management ethics, responsible firm ethics, and ethical climate. Finally, we highlight research gaps and suggest opportunities for future research based on these critical themes.