Societal Impact of Marketing Research: A Comprehensive Analysis Using Altmetric Indicators

Abstract

Marketing research has also found its way into the larger society where it has gained more influence, but where quantification of influence is difficult to do. In this paper, the author investigated the circulation of marketing scholarship on the digital platform and evaluates altmetric indicators of 11 top marketing A* ABDC indexed journals based on the information gathered on eighteen sources of online attention sites such as social networks, news outlets, policy documents and repositories of knowledge. Altogether 86,392 mentions connected to publish research outputs. It is interesting to note that through the analysis, concentration of attention is seen to be significantly absorbed within a limited number of communication channels. The X social media platform alone has 39,710 mentions (45.96%), 26,371 mentions (30.52%) are counted in the news media. Combined, these two sources contribute to over three quarters of all documented on-line interactions, which implies that more frequently marketing research spreads to broader audiences via the quick dissemination of information through the social media and the news coverage of the journal world. The same is the case on the journal level. The Journal of Consumer Research is the leader with 24,394 mentions (28.24%), then here are the Journal of Marketing and the Journal of Marketing Research, which shows that they have a significant influence on the overall publicity of marketing scholarship. The correlation analysis of the output of publishing and online attention shows that there are only weak relationships among them, which means that the increase in volume of publications does not always correspond to the increase in the attention of the society. Rather, separate articles, that represent relatable content (like consumer spending behaviour or sustainability), are likely to get substantial engagement. Altogether, the results indicate the existence of a different dimension of research impact, which is represented by altmetrics, the visibility of marketing knowledge in the changing digital world of communication, and its interaction with society.