Mindfulness in marketing & consumption: a review & research agenda

Purpose: During the last decade, studies on the theoretical models of mindful marketing and consumption have gained the attention of researchers due to the increased awareness concerning environmentalism among companies and consumers. Mindful marketing is about a balanced approach sans consumerism, and mindful consumption is about making informed choices for the well-being of society, businesses, and individuals. The purpose of the paper is to critically review the previous studies on mindfulness in marketing and consumption, identify the research gaps, provide directions for future research, and set a research agenda. Methodology: Framework-based systematic literature review is used for the review. The framework used is the TCCM (Theories, Contexts, Characteristics, and Methodology) (Paul J. et al. 2019). The study highlights the findings from prior studies to understand the theory development and compares the characteristics and contexts based on the framework used. The articles used in the study are from the period 2002–2022 from journals with an impact factor of more than 1.0 and indexed in Scopus and ABDC. The period of the last 20 years was chosen because research on mindfulness in marketing and consumption from the business perspective gained momentum during the last two decades. Findings: The study suggests that studies on mindful marketing and consumption focussed more on the development of sector-specific models. A universally accepted definition and conceptual understanding of mindful marketing and consumption are yet to be researched in future studies. The previous studies did not cover conceptual aspects of mindful marketing and consumption. There is an excellent scope for theoretical extension in this area as it covers almost three subjects: sustainability, marketing, and consumer behavior. Contribution: There is no review in the previous studies that have comprehensively explored the theoretical development, contexts, characteristics, and methodology based on all the articles published in the last two decades. The review seeks to delve deeper into the area of mindful marketing and consumption, which would help in the identification of research gaps and the development of the research agenda.