Marketing Research: A State-of-the-Art Review and Directions for the Twenty-First Century

Abstract

This article provides observations on the state of the art in marketing research during 1987-1997. As such, it updates the earlier state-of-the-art review by Malhotra (1988), which won the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (JAMS) Best Article Award. The primary thrust of articles published in the Journal of Marketing Research during 1987-1997 is reviewed to determine important areas of research. In each of these areas, the authors summarize recent developments, highlight the state of the art, offer some critical observations, and identify directions for future research. They present a cross-classification of various techniques and subject areas, and make some observations on the applications of these techniques to address specific substantive and methodological issues in marketing research. The article concludes with some general directions for marketing research in the twenty-first century.