Coming of age : A 21 year analysis of Marketing Intelligence & Planning from 1990 to 2010

Purpose – This article presents a content analysis of Marketing Intelligence & Planning ( MIP ) for the period 1990‐2010. The aim was to identify key trends in the evolution of MIP . Design/methodology/approach – Four areas were addressed, including an analysis of the nature of authorship, identification and ranking of the most prolific authors, recognition of the most influential articles based on number of citations, and an exploration of the research themes within the published articles. During the 21 years a total of 952 papers appeared in the journal and out of these, 856 were research articles and thereby included in the content analysis. A coding protocol was developed, covering author demographics, citations and research themes. Findings – Findings show a trend going from single‐authored articles towards increased collaboration both within and across countries, and across institutions. The 24 most productive authors counted for 20.2 per cent of the analysed articles, and most of them were from the UK. The 856 articles included in the analysis received 9.368 citations. The five most prevalent research topics during the 21‐year period as a whole were: marketing strategy, consumer behaviour, research measurement and metrics, global/export marketing, and customer relationship management. Differences with respect to the research topics were found over the time period. Originality/value – This analysis identifies key trends in the evolution of MIP . To date there has been no historical analysis of the journal and this analysis provides useful information for the MIP editorial team as well as other researchers and authors.