International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research

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A Bibliometric Analysis of Customer Relationship Management Research in Retail Sectors: Intellectual Structure, Thematic Clusters, and Future Trajectories

Author(s) Mr. Nidhish Padmanabhan, Dr. C Precilla
Country India
Abstract Customer Relationship Management (CRM) has emerged as a critical strategic imperative in the retail sector, yet the field lacks a comprehensive bibliometric mapping of its intellectual evolution. This study presents a systematic bibliometric analysis of 571 Scopus-indexed documents published between 1993 and 2026, addressing four research questions concerning influential authors, thematic clusters, dominant theoretical frameworks, and future research trajectories. Employing VOSviewer-compatible bibliometric techniques including co-authorship, co-citation, bibliographic coupling, and keyword co-occurrence analyses—supplemented by descriptive statistics, the study reveals that the United States, India, and the United Kingdom lead CRM-retail scholarship globally, while authors such as Smith, A.D., Verhoef, P.C., and Reynolds, K.E. constitute the intellectual backbone of the field. Five dominant thematic clusters are identified: (1) Relationship Quality and Trust, (2) Technology and Digital CRM, (3) Customer Loyalty and Retention, (4) Retail-Sector-Specific CRM, and (5) Customer Engagement and Experience. Co-citation analysis uncovers foundational theoretical pillars including Relationship Marketing Theory, the Technology Acceptance Model, Social Exchange Theory, and Service-Dominant Logic. The overlay visualisation confirms a temporal shift from relational-trust paradigms toward AI-enabled, omnichannel, and analytics-driven CRM paradigms. The study identifies critical gaps in emerging-market retail research particularly in the organised FMCG retail sector of South Asia and proposes a future research agenda focused on digital CRM transformation, sustainability, and experiential retailing. These findings offer substantive methodological and managerial implications for CRM scholars, retail practitioners, and policymakers.
Keywords Customer Relationship Management; Retail Sector; FMCG; Bibliometric Analysis; VOSviewer; Relationship Marketing; Customer Loyalty
Published In Volume 8, Issue 5, September-October 2026
Published On 2026-10-22
DOI https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i05.90253
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