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Comparative meta-analysis of the effectiveness of inorganic and organic marketing communications

Kumar Rakesh Ranjan et al.

European Journal of Marketing2026https://doi.org/10.1108/ejm-11-2022-0806article
AJG 3ABDC A*
Weight
0.50

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to explore elusive ways in which marketing communications create value for customers and firms. A two-step comparative meta-analysis of prior studies on inorganic (advertising) and organic (word of mouth [WoM]) communication was conducted to provide their aggregate impact on different types of consumer and firm outcomes. Design/methodology/approach This study identified 157 unique research articles with 175 independent studies/samples with a cumulative sample size of 143,883 to conduct a meta-analysis. Findings This study examines the overall efficacy of advertising and WoM on five consumer-related and three firm-related outcomes. Furthermore, this study discusses the moderating effect of contextual factors (industry type, business context and location) on the different main effects to reveal interesting contextual insights. Research limitations/implications This study offers theoretical contributions, provides clear managerial guidance and compiles a set of future research directions. Practical implications This study provides clear direction for managers as they try to choose between and create a mix of organic and inorganic modes of communication. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this meta-analysis is the first in the field to systematically unravel the comparative effects of inorganic and organic communication.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1108/ejm-11-2022-0806

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@article{kumar2026,
  title        = {{Comparative meta-analysis of the effectiveness of inorganic and organic marketing communications}},
  author       = {Kumar Rakesh Ranjan et al.},
  journal      = {European Journal of Marketing},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1108/ejm-11-2022-0806},
}

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Comparative meta-analysis of the effectiveness of inorganic and organic marketing communications

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.