Thematic evolution of green marketing over the past decades

Purpose The purpose of this study is to map the thematic evolution of green marketing (GM) research over the past two decades. Design/methodology/approach This study used a systematic and bibliometric approach to analyze 393 articles on GM from 2000 to 2024. The authors conducted performance, co-citation and co-word analysis to identify influential authors and journals, unveil this field’s intellectual structure and thematic evolution and interpret and integrate the literature. Findings The findings of this study demonstrate five clusters from both co-citation and co-word analysis. Emerging themes from these analyses include consumer behavior, social media effects, environmental policies and green innovation. A conceptual framework is also proposed to integrate the clusters found and facilitate future research avenues. Originality/value This paper provides the first detailed bibliometric analysis of GM literature over two decades. This paper uses sophisticated analytical techniques to map the field, pointing out trends and contributions, and proposes an integrated conceptual framework. Besides enriching existing knowledge, the insights gained provide essential guidance for further academic research in GM and practical guidance for GM applications.