Advancing theory and knowledge in the business-to-business branding literature

This study investigates the intellectual structure, development, and evolution of business-to business (B2B) branding research by undertaking a bibliometric analysis of scholarly articles on B2B branding over the 43-year period from 1972 to 2015. The analysis covers 169 scholarly articles by 395 authors and 10,270 citations from 33 academic journals in which B2B branding articles appeared. By identifying and evaluating the underlying structure and evolution of scholarly research in B2B branding, this study provides an exhaustive review of this discipline as well as a baseline on which future researchers in the field can build a sound theoretical foundation. The bibliometric analysis results reveal the most cited articles, keywords, authors, institutions, and countries in B2B branding discipline. Further, the study identifies major areas of B2B branding research. The study closes with implications of findings and a report on emerging trends as well as directions for future research.