Bibliometric Profile of Mystery Shopping Literature From 1997 to 2018

Abstract

In this study, it is aimed to classify the published academic studies on mystery shopping based on their various characteristics and to determine on which areas these studies concentrate. The study is also important in terms of identifying in which areas mystery shoppers are used and developing their employability in different areas on the basis of the studies in the literature. Within the scope of the study; book chapters, published scientific articles, master's theses and doctoral dissertations in the literature were examined and 74 printed or online-published studies between 1997 and 2018 were accessed. In order to determine their bibliometric profile, the studies were categorized on the basis of years, publication types, research areas, subjects, sample sizes, countries and the number of authors. The results show that the majority of the studies in the literature are scientific articles and written by two or more researchers. Furthermore, subject of service quality has been frequently discussed in the scope of studies carried out widely in the areas of tourism, health and retailing.