Navigating the landscape of cause-related marketing: a bibliometric review of progress and prospects

Cause-related marketing (CRM) has become a prominent tactic companies use to match their commercial goals with social causes. This paper conducts a bibliometric analysis of CRM research, utilising a dataset comprising 425 documents sourced from the Scopus database, encompassing publications categorised under A*, A, and B journal tiers over the past 3 decades. The analysis incorporates trend analysis, citation analysis, co-citation analysis, and bibliographic coupling facilitated by VOSviewer software for a comprehensive examination. The key findings reveal 2020 as the most fruitful year within the dataset. The most cited author is Strahilevitz M.; the institution is the University of California, Berkeley, USA; and the nation is the USA. The most pivotal journal is the Journal of Business Ethics, and the most influential article is “Donations to Charity as Purchase Incentives: How Well They Work May Depend on What You Are Trying to Sell”. Five thematic clusters were identified: CRM and consumers, consumers skepticism towards CRM, CSR and CRM, donation and CRM, and cause–brand fit and CRM. Theoretically, this paper maps the foundational themes and developmental trajectory of CRM research. Practically, it highlights key publication patterns, influential research agendas, and emerging domains, such as AI, social media, and prosocial behaviour, that can inform future marketing campaigns. The study contributes to both academic and practitioner communities by offering an evidence-based foundation for navigating and advancing CRM research.