Social marketing: what theories and methods have been used to develop empirical research within the field?

Abstract

Social marketing adopts theories and methods used in commercial marketing to encourage behaviour change within social contexts. A range of theories is available to help explain behaviours, provided by different fields (such as psychology, sociology, communication, and consumer behaviour). However, there is no updated systematic review that synthesises the theories applied in social marketing alongside the research methods and thematic domains studied, limiting the field’s ability to identify recent advances and identify gaps. This study therefore sought to map the theories, methods and themes used in social marketing research studies by conducting a systematic literature review following the PRISMA protocol and analysing findings through an ADO-TCM framework-based approach, offering a structured, state-of-the-art overview beyond theory-based reviews. The analysis shows that academics tend to rely predominantly on psychological theories to develop research in Social Marketing (e.g., the Theory of Planned Behaviour), alongside a smaller set of theories from other disciplines. The predominant methods identified are routed as traditional designs – most commonly surveys (quantitative) and interviews (qualitative), with comparatively limited adoption of more innovative approaches such as ethnography or consumer neuroscience. The literature also concentrates on prominent themes, including obesity awareness, responsible drinking or anti-drinking, and pro-environmental behaviour. By systematically integrating theory, method and theme patterns, this review highlights underexplored theoretical and methodological opportunities and outlines avenues for future research relevant to both practitioners and academics.