Sustainable Marketing Management: Using Bibliographic Coupling to Review the State-Of-The-Art and Identify Future Research Prospects

Abstract

ABSTRACT Purpose The abundance of research in the field of sustainable marketing management necessitates a comprehensively integrated knowledge about the topic. This study aims to map all scientific publications related to sustainability marketing from a firm perspective as collected from the Web of Science database (1900–2021), and subsequently identify potential future research directions. Design/methodology/approach The bibliometric method, particularly bibliographic coupling, is used to describe the evolution over time of research on the topic. Also, the networks and intellectual structures of sustainability marketing management research are visualized and analyzed by VOS viewer algorithm/software. Findings Based on a final list of 606 selected journal articles extracted from the initial 777,577 retrieved items, the bibliographic coupling analysis reveals six clusters within the research field: “sustainable green marketing and design: system perspective,” “sustainability assessment and firm performance,” “social sustainability in the dynamic model and mechanism,” “strategic CSR, corporate sustainability integration and performance,” “impacts of social and environmental sustainability on economic sustainability,” and “environmental sustainability and green management for multinational enterprises.” Practical Implications This study provides insight into the most substantive up-to-date contributions to the field, herein referred to as state-of-the-art thematic topics in sustainability marketing management, thus stipulating fruitful future research avenues for a more developed research community.