Marketing of higher education institutions: Research themes and their shifting relevance over time

Marketing plays a key role in the operation of contemporary universities, especially in the context of the increasing commercialisation of education. Like business, universities need to present themselves favourably to students, but also to employers and the broader public. Higher education marketing is a specialized branch of service marketing, which has evolved with increasing competition and the commercialisation of education. The unique nature of marketing in higher education stems from its dual purpose: attracting students while upholding the university’s broader mission of education, research, and human capital development. Marketing strategies must be coherent with the institution’s values and cater to multiple audiences. As such, the themes of ongoing research in higher education marketing can be expected to reflect these challenges and transformations. This study aims to analyse the evolution of research topics in this field over the period 1999–2024, highlighting key themes, influential authors, and significant publication venues. To achieve this, the study employs bibliometric analysis, using both performance analysis and science mapping (bibliometric mapping) to examine how research areas, disciplines, and key contributions are interconnected. A Web of Science search was conducted based on identified keywords, resulting in a dataset of 494 publications. Using author-assigned keywords, the study identifies major research directions and their shifts over time.