AMPLIFYING BRAND ADVOCACY THROUGH AN EVOLVING TREND IN THE FUTURE RESEARCH: BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS

Objective: The purpose of this article is to investigate brand advocacy reviews and conduct a systematic analysis utilizing bibliometric analysis to investigate the evolving research in the marketing sector, specifically consumer behavior. Method: Based on a bibliometric examination of 736 research publications from the Scopus data-based index from 2010 to 2023, this study employed citation, co-citation, and co-occurrence of authors' keyword analysis. Results and conclusion: This current study elucidates the development of brand advocacy research during the past decade. The research on brand loyalty for service marketing among young clients reveals three areas of particular significance. In addition to studies on brand advocacy and the potential future direction of this research subject, no other topics are covered. Implications of the research: This study is limited by its reliance on a single database and its inability to provide contextual information regarding the citation structure of the publications discovered throughout the review process. Originality/value: This study aims to identify the philosophical framework of brand advocacy literature and to trace the sector's historical development.


INTRODUCTION
In the present day, there exists a prevailing agreement that the discretionary cooperation of a company's clientele as brand champions who willingly articulate favorable thoughts regarding the brand.For instance, defending it against criticism, pardoning any missteps, and endorsing it to others holds more significant influence over consumer decision-making than marketing messages sponsored by the brand (Wilk, Harrigan, & Soutar, 2018).A substantial majority of people show trust in and actively seek advice from consumer advocates (Choi et al., 2021).In contrast, a much lower number of individuals trust brand influencers (Fatma & Khan, 2023).Consequently, brand advocacy is an advantageous practice for businesses.It has emerged as an integral component of their marketing strategy, influencing social networking platform users' perspectives and purchasing choices, including the brand advocates themselves (Wong and Hung, 2023).
Hence, brand advocacy for organizations is critical in generating enduring relationship advantages and transactional benefits (Bhattacharya et al., 2007).Various forms of advocacy behavior have been identified in the literature (Vander et al., 2020).These behaviors encompass a range of actions, including positive word-of-mouth (Pourazad et al., 2019) and financial investment in a company.Consequently, customers who refuse to accept unfavorable information about a brand display non-transactional advocacy behavior, which holds significant importance for companies (Du et al., 2007), particularly during periods of uncertainty and emergency.However, the acquisition of brand advocacy has emerged as a prominent objective for numerous entities, including corporations, throughout the prevailing global climate problem.As the global climate issue has become more evident in recent years, there has been a growing need for firms to implement proactive and comprehensive solutions beyond their traditional economic functions.Consumers appreciated and endorsed companies that promptly addressed pressing and essential human necessities.However, they displayed skepticism towards companies prioritizing their brand promotion over genuine concern for these requirements.
As a result, brand advocacy pertains to the degree to which an individual actively promotes and endorses a specific brand while rejecting those offered by competing firms within the same product category (Šerić et al., 2019).This encompasses the consumer's inclination to experiment with novel products from the brand, their readiness to disseminate favorable rumors, and their resilience during challenges (Wong et al., 2023).For consumers to actively endorse and publicize a brand, they must possess a sincere and profound sense of commitment and connection (Khan et al., 2023).However, the positive brand advocacy exhibited by customers can facilitate the acceptance and adoption of new products.Due to its perceived objectivity, it can be argued that the most influential source of information for certain purchasing decisions is considered less biased (Kumar, Khan, Fatma, & Singh, 2022).
Consumers commonly rely on word-of-mouth recommendations to mitigate concerns and reduce the cognitive load of information processing.When a consumer establishes an emotional attachment to a brand, this attachment can motivate them to engage in advocacy behaviors, such as endorsing the brand to others.Additionally, brand advocacy is a significant advancement in pursuing brand endorsement, as it encompasses the notions of forgiveness and granting opportunities for redemption in the face of mistakes or failures (Choi et al., 2021).Brand advocacy is crucial in influencing consumer purchasing behavior, establishing its indispensability in marketing services.As a dependable and credible source of information, brand advocacy holds enormous sway over consumer decision-making processes.Nevertheless, there exists a need for more scholarly investigations into the determinants of brand advocacy within the service company.Brand advocacy in this context refers to how customers actively endorse and promote a particular service compared to its competitors.
Moreover, a particular of scholars has endeavored to conceive of brand advocacy more universally by employing diverse theoretical frameworks and conceptual models.Considering the extensive body of research about brand advocacy and its increasing significance as a strategic tool in consumer decision-making, there is a need for a complete, methodical, and thorough examination to consolidate a full understanding of this subject.This analysis aims to uncover the fundamental components of the conceptual structure of the literature on brand advocacy.Consequently, it is necessary to conduct a thorough examination in the form of a bibliometric analysis to investigate the various aspects of brand advocacy over the past decade since its rise in popularity in 2010.To the extent of our current understanding, the research represents extensive investigations conducted on brand advocacy (Wilk et al., 2018).These research investigations aim to contextualize brand advocacy by drawing on existing literature.These studies also provide valuable insights into conceptualizing the advocacy construct, which has been management practice and academic research.
Conversely, considering the significant increase in research on brand advocacy and the methodological constraints observed, future studies must assess the latest advancements in the field of advocacy accurately.However, there needs to be more scholarly literature on thoroughly examining the concept of brand advocacy.There is a pressing need for a complete analysis to shed light on the current advancements in this area and provide a more systematic and comprehensive understanding of its evolution.The primary objective of the present study is to address this research gap by implementing a comprehensive bibliometric analysis that surpasses the level of detail provided by prior studies.This study distinguishes itself from two prior studies in three key aspects: its methodological rigor, its emphasis on addressing a wide range of pertinent research inquiries, and its endeavor to illuminate the most recent emerging patterns in brand advocacy by drawing upon a more extensive body of literature.
Bibliometric assessments are a research methodology that uses quantitative techniques to investigate the interconnections among scholarly works by examining their citations and cocitations (Donthu, Kumar, Mukherjee, Pandey, & Lim, 2021).By summarizing bibliographic documents and considering multiple parameters, this meta-analytical tool reveals the interconnections among articles and identifies key research themes within a specific subject area.This study operates under the assumption that researchers disseminate their research findings through academic journals and select journals based on the presence of previously published articles that align with their research.By conducting a bibliometric analysis, it becomes possible to identify the key contributors in a specific subject, uncover the most influential publications and journals, and significantly comprehend the incremental advancement of the topic.Despite this, the primary objective of the present study is to provide a thorough bibliometric analysis of the extant literature about brand advocacy.The present study aims to investigate the following research inquiries: RQ1.How has the literature on brand advocacy evolved throughout history, and which articles are most frequently cited?RQ2.Who are the most distinguished brand advocacy authors, and which journals, institutions, and nations have significantly contributed to the field?What is the explanation for their influence?
RQ3.What are the prevailing concepts in brand advocacy of consumer decisionmaking?
The investigation into the origins and consequences of brand advocacy has garnered increasing attention.However, the precise connection between brand advocacy and consumer decision-making has yet to be established.This part undertakes a comprehensive review of the existing literature about brand-user relationships, with the specific aim of identifying brand advocacy that has the potential to influence consumers.The present study aims to investigate the research inquiries at hand and provide valuable contributions to the field of brand advocacy.This study aims to enhance brand advocacy by identifying the prevailing emergent themes found in the existing literature.Hence, the primary objective of this study is to provide managers and practitioners with a thorough understanding of brand advocacy, enabling them to effectively incorporate this idea as a strategic intervention in their business operations.In this section, the authors provide a concise overview of the existing literature on brand advocacy, followed by a comprehensive explanation of the methodology employed in this study.The following sections present the results of the bibliometric study and a complete examination of the emerging themes in brand advocacy.The report finishes by discussing the consequences, limits, and potential avenues for future research.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Brand advocacy is consumers' voluntary backing of a brand (Bhati et al., 2020;Fullerton, 2011;Shimul et al., 2023).Company advocacy includes promoting positive wordof-mouth and protecting the brand from nasty comments (Wilk et al., 2018).When people are willing to support the brand through verbal endorsements and behavioral choices, brand advocacy may result from a positive consumer-brand connection (Bhati et al., 2020).According to Stokburger-Sauer et al. (2012), brand advocacy is a significant metric of consumer-brand identification, primarily impacted by the brand's similarity to the individual's self-concept.Wilk et al. (2018) state that brand advocacy entails engaging in positive communication regarding a brand, recommending the brand to others, and defending the brand against any attack.Brand advocacy refers to a consumer expressing positive feelings about a brand and its products (Khamwon et al., 2020).Supporters of a brand provide positive feedback on the brand or product the company gives.In addition, they suggest new customers and develop content on behalf of the company.
Additionally, online brand advocacy refers to actions taken by customers to defend, support, or promote a brand in the digital sphere (Wilk et al., 2018).Nevertheless, according to Wilk et al. (2018), the concept of online brand advocacy encompasses a variety of indispensable constructs.These constructs involve customers actively promoting and supporting a brand through positive discussions, brand admiration, information sharing, and virtual expressions such as smileys.Furthermore, the foundation of social exchange theory lies in the notion that the connection between customers and firms is established through social exchanges.Choi et al. (2021) put forward that customers exchange relevant earnings through personal dedication or appreciation, manifested in the form of positive and constructive feedback provided to the firm.Customers who develop specialized interests in the brand nexus will likely exhibit positive feelings, behaviors, and thoughts through their activities.Choi et al. (2021), the research has examined several online brand advocacy antecedents in depth.
Through the internet, brand advocacy is distinct from nonvoluntary, incentivized efforts undertaken by paid influencers, celebrity endorsers, and other viral marketing activities orchestrated and backed by a sponsored brand (Wong and Hung, 2023).The key distinction lies in the voluntary nature of online brand advocacy, which is driven by consumers' personal brand experiences.In their study, Wilk et al. (2019) delineate four aspects of online brand advocacy.These dimensions encompass brand defense, brand positivity, brand information sharing, and the virtual manifestation of positivity.Brand protection encompasses both proactive and reactive strategies implemented to safeguard a brand.Brand positivity is the act of favorably portraying a brand, while brand information sharing pertains to distributing comprehensive explanations or promotional materials related to the brand.Despite virtual positivity, it requires the brand's online visual manifestation.Therefore, the current study found that the new development from brand advocacy has evolved to online brand advocacy in marketing knowledge.Despite this, it will have a manifestation regarding the correlation between the construct in the present study and consumer decision-making to create a constructive advantage.
Brand advocacy is essential for both firms and consumers.Consumers have a pivotal role in shaping a brand's functional and symbolic attributes through their interactions with the physical goods and services offered by the brand.This phenomenon holds significant importance in the field of marketing.Hence, individuals with a strong affinity for a particular brand are inclined to pay a higher price.Furthermore, a brand advocacy relationship can be fostered by accumulating favorable decision-making processes.Furthermore, empirical studies have shown that brand loyalty drives customer behavior.The primary focus lies in the influence of a consumer's favorable perception of a brand and their corresponding positive or unfavorable perception of competitor brands on their purchasing choice.To establish a favorable brand perception, businesses should endeavor to enhance the value proposition of their products or services.Subsequently, the subsequent section provides an in-depth examination of the methodology, instruments, and techniques employed in conducting this bibliometric analysis.This paper makes a valuable contribution to the existing body of knowledge by examining the impact of brand advocacy on consumer decision-making.

METHODOLOGY
A comprehensive bibliometric analysis was conducted in this study to address the chosen research topics effectively.According to Apriliyanti and Alon (2017), analyzing citation and co-citation patterns enables the identification of interrelationships across scholarly works.This research integrates various bibliometric analytic approaches, including citation analysis, co-citation analysis, and analysis of the co-occurrence of author keywords.The methodological approach implemented in this study aligns with the approaches employed in prior studies conducted by Dzikowski (2018) and Martínez-López et al. (2018).It is noted that the initial methodology applied in this investigation is citation analysis.This methodology examines various units, such as the annual publishing output, prominent authors, significant journals, organizations, and countries, to study numerous aspects of a research topic (Dzikowski, 2018).
Moreover, the current study regards citations as a metric for evaluating influence (Noor et al., 2020).The subsequent methodology adopted in this research is co-citation analysis, which evaluates the interconnection of referenced sources (Das et al., 2018).As per the findings of Shah et al. (2022), the co-citation of two papers is deemed noteworthy when they share many regularly cited references.Hence, co-citation analysis is employed to ascertain the relative frequency with which two publications are referenced jointly (Saha et al., 2020).Co-citation analysis is valuable for identifying prominent research streams by visually representing interconnected clusters of scholarly works about a particular topic.Therefore, the performance of a content analysis on these well-defined clusters enables the identification of the main study areas.The selected approach for this research entails the examination of co-occurrences of author keywords.The methodology utilized in this study entails evaluating frequently recurring keywords present in both the abstract and the main text of the papers, as exemplified by prior scholarly investigations (Donthu et al., 2021).
Table 1.A search of Scopus Data-Based Index Data Source Search Syntax Search syntax on Scopus (search advanced) on https://www.scopus.com/"Brand advocacy" AND "Brand" AND "Advocacy" AND PUBYEAR > 2009 AND PUBYEAR < 2024 AND (LIMIT-TO (SUBJAREA, "BUSI")) AND (LIMIT-TO (DOCTYPE, "ar")) AND (LIMIT-TO (SRCTYPE, "j")) AND (LIMIT-TO (LANGUAGE, "English")) Notes: Authors' References The Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) standards were utilized to identify the research publications, classify them, determine their eligibility, and include them in the review (Phan Tan, 2022).The review articles were picked systematically from the Scopus database, and two distinct samples were constructed for co-citation and coword analysis because their quantitative indicators and natures of analysis were different.Initially, the prefixes in Table 1 were used to search the Scopus database for research articles, yielding approximately 1,110 results.Then, these documents were limited to business-and management-related journal articles published between 2010 and 2023, yielding 736 articles.In addition, articles published in the top quartile of Scopus journals were retained.In addition, the procedure identifies an article database sample for co-word analysis-based clustering.Following the recommendation of Ramos-Rodrguez et al. (2004), articles with a minimum number of citations were retained for co-citation analysis.The relevance of these articles to the fundamental concept of brand advocacy was then evaluated.Based on the checkpoint, it was determined that brand advocacy, rather than distantly related concepts, should be the paper's primary focus.
The present inquiry utilized the Scopus database to conduct a bibliometric analysis.This study used two primary methods to find papers for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: PRISMA for analyzing the included articles and bibliometric analysis for producing knowledge diagrams using VOSviewer software, including co-citation and co-authorship analysis.In addition, various software tools, including MS Excel and Windows Text Document, are applied in this study.Despite this, the current study utilizes empirical data from the Scopus index (Hashem et al., 2023).The next step is to analyze how publications have changed over time, their trends, and both qualitative and quantitative bibliometric evaluations (Phan Tan, 2022).This phase incorporates Scopus database information.The outcomes of these analyses are graphically represented, highlighting prominent authors, their highly cited works, leading academic institutions, their respective countries, and publications specific to each country.These results are also mapped geographically on Google, providing a global perspective while considering brand attitudes.This signals the end of the third stage of statistical analysis.

Data Collection
In addition, Scopus Syntax, a comprehensive database extensively utilized by scholars for bibliometric analysis across various fields, served as the data source for this study.Scopus was chosen due to its higher precision in primary data, available from duplicate entries, compared to rival platforms.The utilization of Scopus reduces the likelihood of retrieving duplicate articles.The selection of 2010 as the starting point for this study is justified by the advent of brand advocacy as a popular concept in management and business.
This visibility was primarily attributable to the release of two significant articles, Kemp et al. (2012) and Wallace et al. (2012), which shed light on the unique value of brand advocacy concerning consumers.In 2010, brand advocacy gained traction in various fields, including public services and medicine, and research and practical uses of co-creation in business and management have increased significantly.Furthermore, only articles and reviews published exclusively in academic journals were included in this research; conference papers and book chapters were removed on purpose.
Moreover, the subsequent phase emphasizes application scrutiny.In this phase, the VOSviewer application generates knowledge maps, thesaurus files, and web links to validate the results and data.This phase of the bibliometric evaluation is characterized by co-authorship and co-occurrence analyses, with countries and author-specific keywords serving as the primary units of analysis.This phase incorporates the final dataset of 736 articles, derived using the PRISMA flowchart and then exported to VOSviewer.Utilizing bibliometric knowledge maps, this tool emphasizes contemporary global trends in the subject matter.These maps illustrate the relationships between authors and their affiliated nations, considering the authors' collaborative efforts and the frequent co-occurrence of dominant keywords.Bibliometric research typically emphasizes both co-authorship and co-occurrence analyses.The former demonstrates the degree of association between two countries with comparable publication counts, while the latter demonstrates a country's overall prominence compared to other nations.It also emphasizes the strength of the relationship between author-specific keywords and their occurrence in published works.
This study divides the world into seven distinct regions: South Asia, Africa, East Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, and North America.VOSviewer extracted 2,728 keywords from the 736 articles while analyzing keyword co-occurrence.Before being incorporated into VOSviewer, these keywords are evaluated for synonyms or variations representing the same concepts.To ensure a clear knowledge map, the researchers established a minimum keyword occurrence threshold of two, resulting in 656 keywords.This phase concludes with a table that identifies prospective research foci, suggests unexplored areas, and provides further investigation and collaboration opportunities.This marks the conclusion of the final phase of application evaluation.The subsequent phase involves data pre-processing, acquired using the PRISMA methodology, as depicted in Figure 1.It should be noted that the authors solely adhered to a process of scrutiny and did not undertake a systematic literature review following the PRISMA technique.The current investigation initially uncovered 1,110 documents, which a subsequent screening process reduced to 940.An article is excluded from consideration during the screening step due to a need for author information.Despite 736 documents being assessed for duplications, reviews, and irrelevant articles during the eligibility phase.This assessment is conducted by examining the titles, abstracts, and, if necessary, the full text of the articles.Consequently, a final set of documents is obtained.The articles in question were excluded from the final dataset by utilizing their Electronic Identification (EID), a distinctive characteristic of the Scopus database.The researchers have obtained a total of 736 documents for subsequent data analysis.
Following an extensive examination of the evolutionary trajectory of scholarly discussions regarding the impact of brand advocacy on consumer behavior, we have incorporated a graphical depiction in Figure 1.The graph presented herein aptly represents the comprehensive corpus of academic literature throughout a specific period.The dataset depicts the subject's historical progression, highlighting its inception in 2010 and a notable surge in academic publications commencing in 2020.As depicted in Figure 1, the initial year of publication, 2016, exhibited a modest quantity of publications.Nevertheless, this numerical value surged, culminating in a zenith of scholarly articles by 2023.The upward trajectory underscores the significant scholarly interest in examining the correlation between brand promotion and consumer viewpoints.This highlights the ongoing research endeavors in this particular field.The recorded count of articles for 2023 is 176, signifying a notable decline compared to the preceding year.The decline in data can be attributed to the temporal limitations of the data collection time limit, which concludes on October 11, 2023, inadvertently leading to the omission of further contributions made within the same year from the dataset.

RESULTS
This aspect of the study examines the research topics that were previously addressed, with a specific focus on the concept of brand advocacy.This section has exclusively focused on papers that have demonstrated a significant level of depth and generated an exceptional outcome, indicating noteworthy recommendations for future endeavors.

Research Trends Taking Brand Advocacy into Consideration
The present section of statistical analysis provides an overview of the historical pattern of the publication of high-quality articles in the Scopus database, focusing on the issue of brand advocacy.According to Figure 2, it can be observed that the initial article included in the Scopus database was published in the year 2010.From that point onwards to the present day, a cumulative count of 736 scholarly articles, covering 13 years, have been generated and cataloged within the Scopus database.The findings suggest a gradual increase in reports generated until 2015, followed by a more pronounced upward trend from 2019 onwards.Moreover, academic literature about this subject is distributed in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, and other linguistic variants.However, our research was confined to English to ensure brevity and improve clarity.This proposition implies that it would benefit journals to provide English translations of titles and abstracts in their publications, thereby facilitating comprehension for global authors (Table 2).Furthermore, scholarly literature about brand advocacy exhibits interdisciplinary connections, characterizing it as a multidisciplinary field of study.The analysis of subject categories indicates that most scholarly papers focusing on brand attitude are found in business, management, and accounting, with 736 articles.In a similar vein, the field of social sciences exhibits a notable presence 156, followed by economics, econometrics, and engineering 89, Environmental Science 39, and Psychology 32 publications.These findings suggest a significant association between brand advocacy and these domains, indicating potential avenues for future research.

Prominent Scholarly Journals and Articles
The results demonstrate that numerous publishers publish productive journals on brand advocacy.In addition, the Journal of Product and Brand Management (5.6), the Journal of Business Research (11.3), the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services (10.4), the Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing (8.2), and Marketing Intelligence & Planning (5.2) are also cited (4.4).The top journals, their most cited article, and other metrics are depicted in Table 2, which is arranged according to the number of publications.Emerald's Journal of Product and Brand Management is the leading publication, with an impact factor of 5.60, 43 publications, and 1,340 citations.Elsevier's Journal of Business Research, with its 11.3 impact factor, 35 publications, and 900 citations, is the second most prolific publication, as seen in Table 2. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services (10.4) and Research in Interactive Marketing (10.1) follow (8.2).
The results reveal that numerous publishers exhibit a high production level when publishing journals on brand promotion.In addition, it is essential to note that the Journal of Product and Brand Management (5.6), Journal of Business Research (11.3), Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services (10.4),Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing (8.2), and Marketing Intelligence & Planning (4.4) are highly regarded academic journals in the field.The second table comprehensively lists publications arranged according to their respective numerical identities.It summarizes significant journals, their highly cited papers, and more metrics.The Emerald-affiliated Journal of Product and Brand Management is regarded as one of the most reputable academic journals.The journal has a notable impact factor of 5.6 and a substantial number of 43 articles and 1,340 citations.Table 2, therefore, supports the notion that the Journal of Business Research is the second-most prolific publication, based on its impact factor 11.3.With 35 publications and notable citations, the scientific journal Elsevier has substantially contributed to knowledge.Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services (10.4) and Research in Interactive Marketing are the following publications (8.2).
However, the journals have the characteristic that they are all high-impact publications, demonstrating the significance of the studied topic.Cite Score is also regarded as an alternative to the impact factor supplied by Clarivate Analytics, which estimates a journal's impact based on Scopus citation data.Cite Score ("calculates the average number of citations received in a calendar year by all items published in that journal in the preceding three years") results indicate that the Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing (8.2) with Cite Score 16.8 at serial 10 is the leading journal receiving high citations from articles published in journals indexed in the Scopus database.Following the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services (10.4) with a Cite Score of 16.1 is the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services (16.1).

Authors who Have Produced a Large Volume of Work
In addition, table 3 outlines the five authors who have significantly contributed to the study of brand advocacy.These authors are associated with three countries: Portugal, with two authors; Australia, with one author; and Turkey, with two authors.Table 3 is a compilation of the h-index values derived from the Scopus database, explicitly focusing on publications on brand advocacy.It is imperative to note that the writers publish in numerous related subject areas, potentially exceeding the figures shown in Table 3 for their total document count, citation count, and h-index.
However, the present study exclusively concentrates on brand advocacy, considering the articles and citations derived from our query search string.According to the findings presented in Table 3, it is evident that Loureiro, S.M.C., holds the highest position in terms of publication count, with a total of 196 publications and an h-index of 38.Notably, the first article authored by Loureiro was published in 2018, where they served as the second author (a).This article focused on brand advocacy and was indexed in the Scopus database.The author in question has a publication record of 29 papers and an h-index of 10.However, the present study is particularly noteworthy as it centers on brand advocacy and is authored by Bilro, R.G.

Providing Indicators of the Most Productive Nations, Academic Institutions, and Collaboration
The researchers have successfully retrieved data from the Scopus Index from 2010 to 2023 for this subsection.This data was used to determine researchers' geographical locations and placements, providing a complete view of their global dispersion and the academic institutions with which they are affiliated.Figure 3 depicts the global distribution of the top ten most productive nations and their corresponding academic institutions.The names of these institutions are displayed according to their position in brand advocacy publications as indexed by Scopus.The countries and their respective leading academic institutions are depicted in Figure 3.According to Scopus Index statistics from 2010 to 2023, the European region retains a dominant position in the publication of brand advocacy-related research.However, most productive authors and their linked academic institutions are in Europe and the Pacific.In addition to the previously stated locations, North America and South Asia are also featured.Furthermore, figure 3 illustrates the countries and academic institutions that have demonstrated high productivity in publishing and contributing to the field of brand attitude.This study explicitly examines academic institutions' reporting practices, focusing on brevity and the perspective of academics.Consequently, it does not consider reporting practices in nonacademic organizations.The United States ranks first on the list with 230 papers, exhibiting a significant advantage in the number of published publications specifically dedicated to brand advocacy.The subsequent entries on the list were India with a score of 90, China with a score of 78, and Australia with 72.The list illustrates that scholars from developed nations hold significant influence inside the top 15 economies.
In contrast, the researchers' list only included Malaysia (30) and Pakistan (29), two emerging economies.Given the advanced level of industrialization and development in developed economies, there is a significant allocation of resources towards research and development activities about product branding and customer advocacy for these brands.Moreover, due to the increasing level of global trade liberalization, there is intense competition among firms striving to gain a more significant portion of the market.Hence, an up-to-date understanding of brand advocacy is vital to enhance the positioning of one's goods.Furthermore, emerging economies are increasingly emulating industrialized economies by allocating resources toward research and development activities and prioritizing brand advocacy to maintain competitiveness in the global economy.This collaborative approach enhances the quality of published publications, facilitates the sharing of expertise, and enables the collection of timely and valid data.Furthermore, given that a significant portion of branded items are also distributed in developing or emerging economies, it is strongly advised for researchers from developed nations to engage in overseas collaborations to gather a substantial amount of accurate data.Moreover, such partnerships facilitate an enhanced.

Emerging Trends in The Literature of Brand Advocacy
The present analysis examines the trajectory and focus of research within the domain of brand advocacy during the previous decade.Although many industries have embraced brand advocacy as a crucial business strategy, three key themes emerge from the literature in this area.Within this section, we proceed to explicate the emergent themes derived from the existing body of literature.

Brand Advocacy in the Context of Customer Service
The current investigation examines the utilization of brand advocacy to augment the caliber of customer administrations.Achieving exceptional customer service requires comprehensive comprehension and timely response to diverse consumer expectations.The accurate assessment of these expectations can only occur when enterprises actively include and engage customers in providing services or commodities.Brand advocacy play is crucial in fostering brand engagement, so establishing itself is a critical paradigm essential text.Shimul and Phau (2023) examine a conceptual framework for consumer engagement in the brand advocacy process that companies can employ to enhance the process.This framework offers various consumer service benefits, cemented through company support and elevating customer satisfaction.This phenomenon will lead to an enhancement of consumer convenience and consumer confidence, thus bolstering the brand advocacy process and ice.This research examines the commonly utilized keywords located immediately below the abstract, serving as a valuable tool for discerning the primary subjects addressed within a particular work.Figure 5 displays a map that illustrates the co-occurrence of terms.The findings suggest that several concepts have emerged as significant keywords within the existing literature on brand advocacy over the past six years.These terms include "brand advocacy," "customer engagement," "brand loyalty," "brand love," "social media," "brand commitment," and "customer experience."Additional terms that may significantly influence future studies on brand advocacy encompass concepts such as "corporate social responsibility," "brand equity," "brand defense," "co-destruction," and "hospitality," among several others.The utilization of these terms has significantly influenced the literature on brand advocacy since scholars have extensively relied on these concepts throughout the years.
Moreover, figure 6 presents the density model of keywords associated with brand advocacy, accompanied by the co-occurrence of pertinent terms.This conceptual map exhibits a pronounced density surrounding terms like "brand advocacy," extending to concepts such as "customer engagement" and "Interaction."A secondary, less pronounced density can be observed around terms including "brand love," "digital marketing," "purchase intention," and "word of mouth."Bibliometric analyses, as depicted in these knowledge maps, illuminate evolving trends within specific research domains (Apriliyanti et al., 2017).The average publication year function in VOSviewer underscores the primary focal points of research, whereas a reduced frequency of terms delineates specialized areas of study.Based on this background, figure 6 illustrates the potential emerging hotspots for brand advocacy.The results shown in Figure 6 indicate that brand advocacy, for example, has the most tremendous potential.Its average year of publication is 2021; it appears only once, and its average and normalized citations are zero.The average publishing year of 2021 and the frequency of occurrences constitute the second key concept.Because the stimuli are embedded in the context, the concept of subtle is an attempt to raise the consumers' consciousness without their understanding.
Similarly, implicit attitudes must not be regarded as a substitute for traditional explicit attitudes.However, they give communication scholars significant insights into effect, motivation, and emotion.In certain instances, implicit advocacy demonstrates superior predictive capabilities concerning behaviors as behaviors elicit attitudes.Recent research has revealed that implicit attitudes have superior predictive capabilities in forecasting potential voting behavior compared to behavioral advocacy.Research has demonstrated that implicit assessments are more effective in evaluating automatic behaviors stemming from behavioral attitudes than explicit ones to consider both implicit and explicit brand perceptions when examining customer behavior (Ahmadi & Ataei, 2022).behavior, Figure 6 presents a comprehensive overview of the growing hotspots, which offer potential future research directions with brand attitude, thereby contributing to the advancement of existing literature (Khan and Fatma, 2023).Emerging areas of interest attracting attention from academics, practitioners, and policymakers include brand activism, environmental sustainability, sensory marketing, brand identification, brand choice, package design, implicit and explicit brand attitude, and brand competence.These avenues are seen as potential conduits for achieving long-term potential conduits.

Brand Advocacy in The Context of Enhancing Brand Value
An extensive scholarly investigation has explored the possibility of brand advocacy as a strategic mechanism for enhancing a company's brand value.Brand advocacy may be defined as the active promotion and support of a brand, which arises from the positive reception of the brand by consumers, including both satisfied customers and workers of the company.This advocacy is indicative of consumers' experiences with their brand relationship.The Social Exchange Theory (SET) suggests that individuals participate in social exchanges by considering potential benefits, such as effort or social connections, based on their subjective evaluation (Cropanzano & Mitchell, 2005).This theory emphasizes the importance of mutual engagement in cultivating social relationships.Within the context of a community, several aspects of brand advocacy become evident.In their study, Pongsakornrungsilp.( 2011) examined a co-creation phenomenon in which experienced community members, preferred community members," actively engage in perseveres co-creating the community's ethos.The individuals actively protect the communal ethos against both external and internal challenges, thereby participating in the safeguarding of their brand.

Brand Advocacy for Marketing of Services
A crucial tactic for companies looking to promote their offerings and build a loyal and satisfied clientele is brand advocacy.From the consumer's standpoint, the future trend's construct outlines how they obtain value.On the other hand, brand advocacy for suppliers means that marketing and business plans must be adjusted to meet customers' needs for personalized attention.Businesses can effectively use brand advocacy as a tool for customer acquisition and improve and expand their service offerings to their target audience by incorporating brand advocacy into their service marketing.Customers are likely to exchange positive feelings, behaviors, and thoughts through SET in the form of actions when they acquire interest from the brand nexus (Choi et al., 2021).

DISCUSSION
This research paper examines the concept of brand advocacy and analyses its evolution throughout the last ten years.To get to this field's evolutionary trajectory, the study does a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of 736 publications from 10 top journals from 2010 to October 2023.The study utilizes many methodologies, including citation analysis, co-citation analysis, and analysis of the co-occurrence of author keywords, to effectively domain research objectives.
Furthermore, a citation analysis initially addressed the main research questions.Publications of brand advocacy have exhibited a steady increase in prominence since their inception.The growth trajectory can be divided into two distinct phases.The early phase of this area, spanning from 2017 to 2019, is characterized by a limited number of publications.However, the period after 2020 signifies the initiation of the second stage in brand advocacy research, distinguished by a significant increase in the number of papers released each year.The scholarly essay titled "Brand Advocacy."The Journal of Journal of Product and Brand Management (5.6) is at the forefront in terms of the number of publications about brand advocacy, with a notable collection of 43 papers.The Journal of Journal of Business Research (11.3) is widely acknowledged as the most influential publication in the field, as evidenced by its significant number of citations, both in terms of total and average counts.Iscte -Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, Lisbon, is recognized as the preeminent academic establishment in terms of both overall and mean citations.The United States has a significant level of dominance in terms of overall citations worldwide.Conversely, India, China, and Australia have exceptional citation performance per article.The findings shed light on the significant factors contributing to brand advocacy and emphasize the growing interest in this field among renowned researchers and institutions worldwide.
Moreover, bibliometric research has shown overarching patterns and discursive issues in the field of brand advocacy literature in comparison to previous studies while also providing additional insights.The research highlights the significance of brand advocacy and its resultant effects, encompassing various pertinent aspects of diversity research.It emphasizes that brand advocacy is vital for companies seeking to attain competitive advantages and enhance customer purchase intention, ultimately leading to increased business profitability.However, this study has provided significant theoretical implications.This study is a pioneering effort to investigate the foundational aspects of brand advocacy literature through a comprehensive evaluation of existing scholarly works spanning the peri, employing bibliometric analysis as the primary methodology.
Moreover, this study has analyzed the articles with the highest publication rates, focusing on the authors who have demonstrated the most extraordinary productivity.The study also examined their affiliations, keywords, and the influential journals in which their work was published.Additionally, it explored the future research directions in brand attitude research, highlighting the significant contributions made by prominent positions and theoretical insights that have guided the future of this field.This study has synthesized the existing literature on brand advocacy, encompassing prior studies, to fully uncomplete current research trends.Moreover, it proposes potential avenues for future research in brand advocacy literature.The outcomes of this study facilitate the identification of influential published papers, journals, renowned authors, and their seminal work to research gaps and gain new insights in this field.

MAIN CONCLUSIONS, LIMITATIONS, AND FUTURE RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES
In conclusion, our study has identified hitherto unexplored gaps in the existing literature and proposed novel contributions to the growing body of academic knowledge.The study's findings offer several practical ramifications and a critical, inessential administrative perspective.These insights have the potential to assist managerial employees in formulating investment strategies that prioritize the development of brand advocacy to cultivate steadfast consumer loyalty.As a result, it has the potential to provide a competitive advantage and achieve commercial success.A study that empirically investigates the factors that shape brand disposition has the potential for management approaches.
Despite extensive efforts and the effective utilization of software, it is essential to acknowledge the potential existence of limitations in every study, including our own.A potential constraint may arise from the limited journal space available for publications, which restricts our ability to thoroughly explore the primary characteristics of the bibliometric analysis and delve into many aspects.Furthermore, based on the authors' extensive understanding, this study represents a pioneering effort, serving as a fundamental basis for future investigations.Subsequent researchers can augment our keywords with additional ones and explore a broader range of views beyond those addressed in this study.In conclusion, the authors have shifted our focus to the Scopus database.However, future studies may investigate the Web of Science (WOS) database or both Scopus and WOS to increase the breadth of article coverage.

Figure 1 :
Figure 1: The PRISMA methodology and bibliometric analysis flowchart.

Figure 2 :
Figure 2: Yearly growth output of Brand Advocacy publications

Figure 3 .
Figure 3. Illustrating the top 10 most productive countries and academic institutions considering the brand advocacy

Figure 4 .
Figure 4. Top 10 most productive Educational Institutions in Brand Advocacy

Table 2 .
The five most prolific brand advocacy journals No

Table 3 .
List of prolific authors in brand advocacyNo