A Systematic Literature Review on Customer Loyalty and Its Relationship to <scp>CSR</scp> : State of the Art and Future Research Agenda

ABSTRACT This study investigates the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and customer loyalty through a systematic review of 408 articles published between 2004 and 2024 in Web of Science and Scopus. A bibliometric analysis conducted with R and VOSviewer examined annual publication trends, leading journals, and highly cited articles, thematic developments, and term co‐occurrence patterns. Results indicate consistent growth in research over the past two decades, with China emerging as the leading contributor, largely driven by government directives and firms' alignment with international sustainability standards. Prominent publication outlets include Sustainability , Journal of Marketing , and Journal of Business Ethics , with Bhattacharya and Sen identified in 2014 as the most influential authors. Thematic mapping positions “loyalty” as a motor theme and “CSR” as an emerging domain, while “innovation” and “customer perception” appear as central but underexplored areas. “Consumer behavior” is highlighted as a promising avenue for future inquiry. Building on these findings, further research could focus on the role of CSR in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals, the underlying motivations for CSR engagement, the interplay between CSR and innovation, and the extension of sustainable practices within B2B contexts.