Disability and marketing: a bibliometric analysis and systematic literature review

The needs of people with disabilities have been largely overlooked in the market-place and in the development and promotion of products and services. As the mar- keting system has the potential to drive changes in the education system, industry, market, and society, a more grounded and comprehensive understanding of the scholarly debate on disability is essential for advancing academic knowledge and marketing practice. Therefore, this paper provides a bibliometric analysis and sys- tematic literature review on disability and marketing, based on 68 articles published between 1985 and 2022. After identifying the most prominent journals, authors, countries, and research methods employed, a qualitative content analysis is used to thematically map this domain of research. Descriptive data provide evidence of a recent surge in marketing studies addressing disability, which has received increased attention since 2020. Existing research has been primarily driven by studies on tour- ism, services, and social marketing, while other fields remain largely unexplored. In recent years, there has been growing scholarly interest in marketing communications and the representation of disability; however, the focus on barriers and accessibility has hindered the advancement of the knowledge base regarding the social inclusion of people with disabilities from a marketing perspective. Based on its main results, the paper identifies possible avenues for further research, which may also offer valu- able insights for policymakers and marketing practitioners interested in the inclusion of people with disabilities in society and the market.