A Qualitative Investigation of Women Academics' Citation Experiences Through a Marketing Lens

Abstract

This qualitative research aims to provide a unique angle to examine and contribute to a controversial topic—gender gap in citation. Some research has concluded that women tend to cite themselves less than their male colleagues do, while other research has argued that the gender gap in self-citation does not exist at. This study fills the gap by taking an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach to explore how women academics experience and make decisions of whether to cite themselves or not. The nature of academia requires academic researchers to create and disseminate knowledge. From a marketing perspective, academics are like entrepreneurs because they must generate and market their own work. By investigating the motivations and tensions around self-citation using in-depth interviews, this study also explores female academics’ self-branding strategies and their current career environment in the academy. This study not only serves academics by investigating a mundane but influential aspect of academic life, but also helps non-academic stakeholders, such as policy makers and academic administrators, by providing the language and framework to understand women’s career strategies.