Review of emotions research in marketing, 2002–2013

•Study reviews the emotions research conducted within the marketing during 2002–2013.•Research provides the most up-to-date investigation of trends in emotion research.•Human emotions are one of the most reliable and valuable predictors of human behavior.•Emotion is a complex phenomenon to be studied.•Scholars need to investigate the link between emotions and behavioral genetics.

Study of emotions has been an important area of research for past several decades. Since emotions play an important role in purchase decisions, this area has particular importance for marketing scholars. In this study, we review the emotions research conducted within the marketing field between 2002 and 2013. Within the broad domain of emotions, this study focuses on social/personality issues, cognitive factors, the development of emotions and their interactions with other consumption factors. We found a total of 340 emotion-related articles, published in 19 marketing journals. There was a gradual increase in number of articles published every year with the trend peaking in 2009, 2010, and 2011. The review of extant literature offers interesting insights into emotion-related research, and helps in identifying clear directions for future studies.