Mapping the most competitive journals in advertising research. A bibliometric analysis in a 25-year period

Purpose: This research presents a bibliometric analysis of the main advertising trends used as a means of investigation in the business area. This article identifies leading journals and provides a collaborative network researcher for future use in the generation of knowledge. Design/Methodology/Approach: This study examines 4,449 publications from the Web of Science Core Collection database for the 1992-2016 period. The authors analyze bibliometric indicators including the number of publications and citations, the citations per paper, five-year period analysis (quinquennial), h-index, citation thresholds and co-occurrence of authors keywords analysis. It develops bibliographical coupling and co-citations analysis by using the visualization of similarities Viewer Software. Findings: Results show a growing trend in the number of advertising ' s publications. The Journal of Advertising has been the most cited and the Journal of Advertising Research has the largest number of papers. In regards to the h-index, the three most relevant journals in advertising are Journal of Advertising, Journal of Advertising Research, and the International Journal of Advertising. Originality: This article is the first one that contributes with a complete overview of the field of advertising research as a mean of investigation, in a 25-year period. Especially from the business scientific research area through bibliometric indicators, journal rankings, content, citations, and bibliographic coupling, co-citations, and keywords analysis.