From direct marketing to interactive marketing: a retrospective review of the Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing

Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to present a retrospective of the Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing (JRIM) on its 15th anniversary. The retrospective includes an analysis of JRIM's growth in publication and citation, and an exploration of the journal's major themes and methodologies employed. Design/methodology/approach: This study used a bibliometric methodology consisting of analytical techniques such as performance analysis, co-authorship network analysis, and bibliographic coupling to present a retrospective of JRIM. Findings: This study finds that JRIM has grown consistently in terms of its publications and citations with its major themes being social media, advertising and communication, technology adoption, customer behavior, multi-channel marketing, viral marketing, and relationship marketing. This study also reveals that the journal's contributing authors tend to employ empirical and quantitative methodologies. Originality/value: This is the first study to present a retrospective of JRIM and one of the few that present a retrospective of interactive marketing. Besides presenting the major themes, this study also analyzes the growth that such themes have undergone with time and what are the major themes in recent times in relation to the body of knowledge on interactive marketing curated through JRIM.