Knocking on the Doors of Perception: Neuroacoustics in Marketing and Tourism. A Comparative Systematic Literature Review and Bibliometric Analyses

Nuria Recuero Virto^*, Manuel Recuero López

Marketing Department, Faculty of Commerce and Tourism, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

ABSTRACT

This research is the first comprehensive analysis to thoroughly examine the emerging discipline of neuroacoustics in marketing and tourism marketing. Neuroacoustics combines neuroscience and acoustics to fully understand the effect of these signals on humans' behavior and decision-making processes. Employing two systematic literature reviews and bibliometric analyses, this study provides a comparative examination of the neuroacoustics discipline within the marketing and tourism marketing domains. By bridging the existing gaps, such as the recognition of neuroacoustics as a discipline, tracing its academic evolution, and identifying emerging trends, this research underscores the interdisciplinary nature of neuroacoustics and its relevance in shaping managerial capabilities and strategic decision-making processes.

KEYWORDS: Sound, Sonic Branding, Acoustic Signals, Music, Sensory Marketing

The impact of sound on human physiology has been acknowledged across history and applied innovatively in diverse contexts. This influence is evident in wartime situations, such as during the Gulf War, where high-volume acoustic signals were used to extract confessions, or in Kinmen during the conclusion of the Chinese Civil War, where traditional warfare methods gave way to strategic placement of speakers emitting speeches and music (Lekner, 2022). Additionally, music therapy in field hospitals and veteran rehabilitation emerged during these conflicts (Gilliland, 1945). However, armies also discovered less therapeutic aspects of music over time, such as its use in torture practices, exemplified when the US Army utilized songs like Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” during the interrogation of Iraqi detainees, repeatedly played at high volume (Cusick, 2020). Besides these applications, contemporary research continues to reveal the multidimensional influence of acoustic signals, with studies indicating its positive effects on cows, suggesting that playing music to cows can lead to an increase in milk production (Kochewad et al., 2022).

    In the fields of tourism and marketing, the term “acoustics” has been scarcely used (Barnes, 2024; Lowe & Haws, 2017), in contrast to its extensive examination in engineering, encompassing diverse topics ranging from architectural soundproofing to environmental noise control (Arjunan et al., 2024; Barrigón Morillas et al., 2002). The integration of neuroscience and acoustics has mainly been observed in medical research, particularly in studies exploring the therapeutic effects of acoustic signals’ stimulation for conditions such as tinnitus, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease (Bastos et al., 2021; Gálvez et al., 2018; Kroener-Herwig et al., 2000).

    Based on other interdisciplinary neuroscience research disciplines definitions (Bhardwaj et al., 2023; Juárez-Varón et al., 2024; Kaur, 2024), neuroacoustics can be described as the study of how the brain interprets and processes acoustic signals. This entails understanding the transmission of these acoustic signals in a physical space and their brain interpretation.

    Despite the considerable body of research in sensory marketing that has examined the significance of acoustics signals’ stimuli (Biswas et al., 2019; Fan et al., 2023; Spence, 2012), which include concepts like sonic branding, music, sound, and phonetic symbolism, a universally accepted terminology for this area of research is lacking, posing the question of whether there is a need to establish neuroacoustics as an emerging discipline in business and tourism domains.

    Against this backdrop, this research aims to undertake a comparative examination through conducting two systematic literature reviews and two bibliometric analyses to examine the body of research concerning neuroscience and acoustics, and to address the deficiencies hindering the discipline, such as (1) the recognition of neuroacoustics as a discipline; (2) the identification of the interest in neuroacoustics within marketing and tourism marketing, (3) the specific themes and areas of focus within neuroacoustics related to marketing and tourism marketing; and (4) the publication patterns and distribution within the domain of neuroacoustics. Accordingly, this study seeks to explore the following research questions (RQs):  

(RQ1) Is there a recognized discipline within the field of neuroacoustics?

(RQ2) Is there a growing interest in neuroacoustics within marketing and tourism marketing?

(RQ3) What topics does neuroacoustics encompass within marketing and tourism marketing?

(RQ4) Are there identifiable publication trends?

    This research offers academic and managerial contributions by establishing robust foundations for neuroacoustics. It proposes a comprehensive and comparative analysis of research conducted concerning neuroscience and acoustics in marketing and tourism marketing.

Method

To address the research gaps and questions, two systematic literature reviews (SLRs) were conducted, followed by two bibliometric analyses, regarding neuroacoustics in the fields of marketing and tourism marketing. SLR and bibliometric analysis stand as cornerstones of literature review methods in scientific research (Cano-Marin et al., 2023).

Following Chaudhuri et al.’s (2023) recommendations SLR was selected within different objectives: (1) to ensure quality in the literature review and the findings of the analyses; (2) to review a wide range of articles; (3) to minimize potential biases and errors; (4) to ensure validity and transparency by facilitating the replicability of the analyses; (5) to synthesize current literature and organize search data within the research domains; and (6) to provide theoretical and managerial. Moreover, SLR is necessary when the topic under research is delimited, facilitating comprehension of the current state of the topic and ensuring the application of the study within its context (Deepa et al., 2024).

In this study, the SLR process was developed through five sequential steps, adapted from the PRISMA methodology, which comprises four main stages: identification, screening, eligibility, and inclusion (Moreno-Lobato et al., 2023).

Step 1: Question formulation

The five-stage process, which begins with the first step of question formulation, inspired by Beloskar et al.’s  (2024) study.

Step 2: Identification

The second step, identification, is the phase where specific databases are selected and the Boolean operators are defined to identify relevant articles (Deepa et al., 2024; Moreno-Lobato et al., 2023). The bibliometric analyses were conducted using the Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus databases.

The decision criteria used for both bibliometric analyses developed was based on prior studies (Beloskar et al., 2024; Liu & Avello, 2021; Kaur, 2024; Novitzky et al., 2023). Table 1 illustrates the Boolean criteria strategy utilized for each of the two bibliometric analyses conducted, i.e., neuroacoustics within the domains of marketing and tourism marketing. These searches were conducted on the 26^th of February 2024. The primary keywords employed were silence, noise, music, sound, and jingle. Additionally, for the bibliometric study in marketing, the keywords “consumer, user, marketing, brand, or advertisement” were included. For the analysis in the tourism marketing domain, the keyword “tourism” was also incorporated.                         

    For both bibliometric studies, the inclusion criteria were defined based on the document type, which was limited to articles, and the language, which was English. The inclusion criteria regarding WoS categories and Scopus subject areas are shown in Table 1 for both bibliometric analyses. The difference between the two analyses regarding this inclusion criterion lies in the bibliometric study focusing on neuroacoustics in tourism marketing, which included an additional WoS category, namely hospitality, leisure, sport, and tourism (Moreno-Lobato et al., 2023).

    Table 2 presents the number of records obtained after conducting searches using the five primary keywords (i.e., silence, noise, music, sound, and jingle) in both the marketing and tourism marketing domains. This process resulted in the creation of ten databases, each dedicated to one of the five search criteria.  

Table 1

Decision Criteria

Step 3: Screening

The third step involved removing duplicate articles present in each of the databases, which were independently cleaned. This involved employing Biblioshiny for processing and deleting duplicate DOI and SR values, no author keywords, and entries lacking DOI or SR values (Cano-Marin et al., 2023; Kaur, 2024). Tables 3 and 4 show the results after these two procedures.

 

 

Table 4
Articles Within Databases Scope: After Deleteing Missing DOI Values, Duplicates DOI Values, Duplicates or no SR Values and no Author Keywords
Merged database: Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus Elsevier	sound	silence	noise	music
Database in neuroacoustics marketing	2449	298	1957	2761
Database in neuroacoustics tourism marketing	331	85	131	469

Step 4: Eligibility

During this phase, each database underwent independent cleaning, excluding records lacking relevance after abstract, title, and keyword review (Cano-Marin et al., 2023).

Step 5: Included

A new revision of duplicate DOI and SR values was performed in the merged databases. Following this process, a total sample of 286 records was obtained for neuroacoustics in marketing, while 39 records were collected for neuroacoustics in tourism marketing, as explained in Table 5. The sample sizes used in this study were considered appropriate, as they were similar to those used in recent related studies (Chaudhuri et al., 2023; Moreno-Lobato et al., 2023).

  Table 5

     The next and final step involved conducting bibliometric analyses within the software tools. These included Biblioshiny (a graphical interface of Bibliometrix R package), which is widely used in current bibliometric studies (Beloskar et al., 2024; Makaya et al., 2023; Oludapo et al., 2024), as well as Tableau and Microsoft Excel (Alhashmi et al., 2024; Del Gesso et al., 2024), for analysis and visualization purposes.

Table 6 offers an overview of significant bibliometric metrics. For the marketing domain, the articles included in the study sample were published from 1993 to 2024, presenting an annual growth rate of 5.33%. In comparison, the analyzed articles for the tourism marketing domain were published between 2001 and 2024. The average number of citations per document in the marketing field is 16.99, while in the tourism marketing area, it is 12.18.  

 

Descriptive Review of the Literature

Articles Per Year and Country Location

  Since the first neuroacoustics article was published in 1993, research activity in the marketing domain remained low until 2009, and was almost non-existent in the tourism marketing field (Table 7). In the field of marketing, 92.66% of the papers were published after 2009, while 94.87% were in the field of tourism marketing.

     Price’s Index indicates the percentage of references that are less than five years old (Gong, 2023; Price, 1970). Until February 2024, the findings offer a Price’s Index of 49.3% in the marketing field and 66.7% in the tourism marketing domain. As the Price Index’s values are reasonably high (Liu & Avello, 2021), neuroacoustics is considered an innovative and robust research field.  It has been stated that normally the development of a scientific discipline undergoes exponential growth, doubling in size every 10 to 15 years (Price, 1963). The evolution of the scientific field typically encompasses four stages: the precursor phase, the exponential growth period, the consolidation of knowledge, and the decline in production stage.

      Figure 1 reveals that research in both domains is still in its precursor phase (Liu & Avello, 2021). However, it remains to be seen the evolution of neuroacoustics, considering the substantial growth observed in 2023 with 43 articles published in marketing and 9 in tourism marketing.

 

Table 7
Frequency of Publication of Articles Related to Neuroacoustics in Marketing and in Tourism Marketing Per Year
Year	Frequency in marketing	Percentage in marketing	Cumulative relative frequency in marketing	Frequency in tourism marketing	Percentage in tourism marketing	Cumulative relative frequency in tourism marketing
1993	1	0.3%	0.35%	0	0%	0
1994	0	0%	0.35%	0	0%	0
1995	0	0%	0.35%	0	0%	0
1996	2	0.7%	1.05%	0	0%	0
1997	0	0%	1.05%	0	0%	0
1998	0	0%	1.05%	0	0%	0
1999	0	0%	1.05%	0	0%	0
2000	3	1%	2.10%	0	0%	0
2001	0	0%	2.10%	1	3%	2.56%
2002	3	1%	3.15%	0	0%	2.56%
2003	2	0.7%	3.85%	0	0%	2.56%
2004	0	0%	3.85%	0	0%	2.56%
2005	2	0.7%	4.55%	1	3%	5.13%
2006	3	1%	5.59%	0	0%	5.13%
2007	3	1%	6.64%	0	0%	5.13%
2008	2	0.7%	7.34%	0	0%	5.13%
2009	8	2.8%	10.14%	1	3%	7.69%
2010	8	2.8%	12.94%	1	3%	10.26%
2011	5	1.7%	14.69%	1	3%	12.82%
2012	19	6.6%	21.33%	0	0%	12.82%
2013	12	4.2%	25.52%	1	3%	15.38%
2014	9	3.1%	28.67%	2	5%	20.51%
2015	14	4.9%	33.57%	1	3%	23.08%
2016	18	6.3%	39.86%	1	3%	25.64%
2017	17	5.9%	45.80%	0	0%	25.64%
2018	14	4.9%	50.70%	3	8%	33.33%
2019	17	5.9%	56.64%	6	15%	48.72%
2020	25	8.7%	65.38%	4	10%	58.97%
2021	27	9.4%	74.83%	3	8%	66.67%
2022	24	8.4%	83%	3	8%	74.36%
2023	43	15.0%	98%	9	23%	97.44%
2024	5	1.7%	100%	1	3%	100.00%

 

Figure 1

Growth of Scientific Production

The neuroacoustics discipline is primarily located in the United States, United Kingdom, China, and Australia, as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3. In the marketing field, the leading countries are the United States of America (103), followed by the United Kingdom (32), China (28), Australia (23), and Spain (17). Meanwhile, in the tourism marketing domain, the top countries include China (45), Australia (10), United Kingdom (9), United States (6), and Greece (6). Figure 2 also highlights evidence of neuroacoustics research in emerging economies within both fields, underscoring the need for more studies in developing countries, as suggested in prior research (Albahari et al., 2022).

Figure 2

Countries’ Scientific Production in Neuroacoustics in Marketing and in Tourism Marketing

Figure 3

Countries’ Scientific Production Over Time

Main Topics Analysed and Research Lines

Keywords

Analysing the frequency of keyword appearances offers insights into the main topics covered (Chaudhuri et al., 2023; Kaur, 2024; Liu & Avello, 2021). As presented in Tables 8 and 9, terms such as “background music,” “perception,” and “impact” appear as the top five most frequently mentioned concepts across both domains. Additionally, in the marketing field, keywords like “behaviour” and “sound” are highly mentioned, whereas in the tourism area, “music” and “landscape” also rank among the top five most mentioned.

    As observed in the word clouds presented in Figures 4 and 6, most of these terms are associated with the acoustic signals' influence on consumers’ or visitors’ attitudes, except for “landscape”, which is connected to the concept “soundscape” (refer to Figure 7). The tree maps shown in Figures 5 and 7 visually represent the data from Tables 8 and 9, highlighting additional topics explored in neuroacoustics disciplines that vary between the marketing and tourism marketing domains. For instance, in the marketing field, keywords such as “memory”, “phonetic symbolism”, as well as those related to target segmentation, have emerged. Conversely, in tourism marketing, other relevant keywords include “tourism development”, “tourism management”, “authenticity” and “identity”.

 

Table 8 Frequency of Occurrence of Neuroacoustics in Marketing Keywords (>9 Times)
	Keywords	Frequency	Percentage
	background music	44	8.91%
	Behavior	38	7.69%
	Impact	34	6.88%
	Sound	30	6.07%
	Perception	28	5.67%
	Music	26	5.26%
	Memory	21	4.25%
	phonetic symbolism	21	4.25%
	Responses	19	3.85%
	Mood	18	3.64%
	Information	15	3.04%
	Female	14	2.83%
	Involvement	14	2.83%
	Male	14	2.83%
	Adult	13	2.63%
	Model	13	2.63%
	Consumers	12	2.43%
	Consumption	12	2.43%
	Perceptions	12	2.43%
	Personality	12	2.43%
	Taste	12	2.43%
	Attitude	11	2.23%
	Human	11	2.23%
	Article	10	2.02%
	Attention	10	2.02%
	in-store music	10	2.02%
	Pitch	10	2.02%
	Tempo	10	2.02%

 

Table 9 Frequency of Occurrence of Neuroacoustics in Tourism Marketing Keywords (>3times)
Keywords	Frequency	Percentage
Music	15	24.59%
perception	7	11.48%
landscape	6	9.84%
Impact	5	8.20%
background music	4	6.56%
behaviour	4	6.56%
experiences	4	6.56%
responses	4	6.56%
Tourism	4	6.56%
tourism development	4	6.56%

Figure 4

Neuroacoustics in Marketing Keywords Co-Occurrence Network in Word Cloud Format

Figure 5

Neuroacoustics in Marketing Keywords Co-Occurrence Network in Tree Map Format

Figure 6

Neuroacoustics in Tourism Marketing Keywords Co-Occurrence Network in Word Cloud Format

Figure 7

Neuroacoustics in Tourism Marketing Keywords Co-Occurrence Network in Tree Map Form

Co-word analyses

Biblioshiny created the correlation network maps in both fields, as presented in Figures 8 and 9. Figure 8 indicates that the marketing domain is represented by four clusters, whereas Figure 10 outlines that the tourism marketing field is categorized into seven clusters. To understand the correlation network maps between keywords presented in Figures 8 and 9, nodes of the same colour form a cluster, and the closer proximity between nodes within the same cluster indicates a stronger relationship (Haba et al., 2023; Kaur, 2024; Liu & Avello, 2021).

    In the marketing domain (Figure 8), Cluster 1, represented by the red network titled “Background music behaviour”, focuses on the relationship between background music and consumer behaviour, including aspects such as memory, in-store music, shopping behaviour, choice, experience, and preferences. Cluster 2, shown by the green network labelled “Sound perceptions”, encompasses themes related to sound and perception. Cluster 3, represented by the blue network and titled “Consumers’ segmentation”, covers topics related to target segmentation, such as gender and age, as well as connections to noise, music, and satisfaction. Cluster 4, the purple network, and named “Responses to symbolic sounds”, comprises themes related to phonetic symbolism, personality, perception, fluency, and quality.

     In the tourism marketing field (Figure 9), Cluster 1, red network, entitled “Music influence on tourism”, includes concepts such as music, identity, place, travel, and transportation. Cluster 2, represented by the blue network and named “Satisfactory experiences” is related to the terms satisfaction and experience. Cluster 3, green network and titled “Background music effects on tourism”, encompasses concepts such as tempo, background music, and impact. Cluster 4, purple network, labelled “Mental-tourism-imagery”, mainly relates to mental imagery and behaviour. Cluster 5, orange network, named “Tourism development”, is associated with concepts of tourism management. Cluster 6, brown network, named “Experience perceptions”, focuses on these two terms. Cluster 7, pink network, titled “Nature stress relief”, is related to national parks and stress recovery.  

 

Figure 8

Neuroacoustics In Marketing Correlation Map Between Keywords

Figure 9

Neuroacoustics In Tourism Marketing Correlation Map Between Keywords

Thematic Maps

Biblioshiny generates a thematic map for each bibliometric analysis, using authors’ keywords as the units of analysis to reveal critical themes (Oludapo et al., 2024). These thematic maps are interpreted based on their centrality, which reveals their significance, and density, which represents their growth, in relation to various research themes (Kaur, 2024).

    Figure 10 presents a neuroacoustics thematic map within the marketing domain, highlighting themes such as “art” and “landscape” as fundamental topics relevant to general research. Themes such as “behavioural research”, “crowdsourcing”, “music preferences”; “audio acoustics”, “audio” and “computer applications”, and “public attitude” and “noise pollution” are showing a declining trend. In contrast, “computer music”, “electronic music” and “generation” represent are emerging themes with limited representation but rapid growth. Finally, “background music”, “behaviour”, “impact”, and “perception”, “sound” and “music” represent the motor themes driving research in the field.

    Likewise, Figure 11 shows a neuroacoustics thematic map within the tourism marketing field, underscoring themes as “music”, “behaviour” and “tourism” and “impact”, “background music” and “responses” as key themes. Topics such as “tourism development”, “tourist destination”, and “perception” are displaying a decreasing development. Conversely, “national park”, “identity”, “soundscapes”, “place” and “urban” denote emergent themes with reduced representation but fast development. Lastly, “landscapes,” “experiences,” and “noise” are the key themes that enhance research in the area.

    Hence, scholars are encouraged to further develop the motor themes in both domains (i.e., marketing and tourism marketing), given their significance and potential for future research in neuroacoustics.

 

Figure 10

Thematic Strategic Map For Neuroacoustics In Marketing

Figure 11

Thematic Strategic Map for Neuroacustics in Tourism Marketing

 

 

Most cited articles

Analysing the most cited articles within a discipline offers valuable insights into the literature considered most significant by the research community. The number of citations is a key indicator of both influence and attention within the scientific community. It is essential to note that the articles mentioned in Tables 13 and 13 were retrieved on February 26, 2024. Although the articles remain the same upon repeated searches, the number of citations may vary as new citations accumulate over time (Bengoa et al., 2023; Liu & Avello, 2021).

     Table 12 presents the 25 most influential articles on neuroacoustics in marketing, with their citation counts and the percentage of citations per year. Precisely, a total of 19 articles acquired more than 60 citations, a relatively modest number of citations compared to more established fields of research. The most cited article, with 267 citations, is related to phonetic symbolism (Klink, 2000), representing one of the earliest contributions to the field. Following closely behind is the research by Berns and Morre (2011), which has 175 citations. Similarly, Table 13 reveals that only one article received over 60 citations, specifically the research by Waitt and Duffy (2010) on sonic knowledge of listening, with a total of 80 citations.

 

Most Used Research Methods

Research methods assist the systematic collection and analysis of real-world data, contributing to the expansion of scientific knowledge (Liu & Avello, 2021). Table 14 shows that most studies in both marketing and tourism marketing are empirical, accounting for 91% and 68%, respectively. These empirical studies primarily employ quantitative methods, with experiments being the most common approach in marketing (66%) and surveys being the most common in tourism marketing (56%). Regarding data analysis techniques, multivariate methods are popular in marketing (43%), while other statistical approaches are common in tourism marketing (35%).

 

 

Conclusions and Future Research Lines

This research contributes significantly to the emerging discipline of neuroacoustics. One of the main contributions of this study is conducting two SLRs followed by two bibliometric analyses, comparing the progress of neuroacoustics in two different areas. The aim is to shed light on neuroacoustics and its interdisciplinary nature, particularly in marketing and tourism. In this section, the research questions will be addressed in detail.

Different bibliometric indicators have been analysed, including the distribution of years of publication, Price’s index, number of citations, source of publication, research areas, research methods, and co-occurring keywords, among others. This comprehensive study aimed to clarify the main characteristics and trends in neuroacoustics research across both domains. The first neuroacoustics article in the marketing field was published in 1993, exhibiting an annual growth rate of 5.33%. Additionally, neuroacoustics in tourism marketing emerged as a more recent subfield, with only twenty-three years of history (RQ1). As observed in many other disciplines, the United States, the United Kingdom, China, and Australia are the most significant contributors, highlighting the need to foster this discipline in other countries.

The marketing potential of neuroacoustics represents a recent and growing phenomenon, justifying the increased intensity of scientific research in recent years. Notably, 49.3% of articles in the marketing field and 66.7% in the tourism marketing domain were published from 2019 onwards, indicating a recent surge in scientific interest in this discipline (RQ2). Research in this field is still in its early stages in both domains, with the tourism marketing domain showing a particularly high number of authors who have only made one contribution (refer to Table 13).

The most common research type in this discipline is empirical, with quantitative methods being mainly used. However, there are differences in data collection procedures and analysis techniques between the two fields. In marketing, experimental procedures and multivariate analysis are most commonly employed, whereas in tourism marketing, surveys and other statistical calculations are more frequently used. While electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) have proven effective for studying neuroacoustics, due to advancements in signal cleaning techniques to avoid noise contamination (Mutanen et al., 2018), there has been limited research using EEG analysis in both marketing and tourism. Specifically, only four studies in marketing have employed EEG techniques (i.e., Ausín et al., 2021; Chen et al., 2023; Hsu & Chen, 2019), with none specifically on the tourism marketing area. While studying the employment of MEG, there are none in both domains.

A significant number of articles focus on experiential marketing, particularly examining atmospheric sounds and behavioural responses in both domains. Specifically, “background music” emerged as the most frequent term in the marketing domain, while “music” was the main in the tourism field. The relationship between music and tourism has recently been assessed by Moreno-Lobato et al. (2023), highlighting the importance of emotions in conjunction with music elements and tools, with an increase in interest over the past decade. Research within the analysed clusters in both domains directly relates to consumers’ responses and perceptions, encompassing concepts such as memory, gender, tempo, and mood in the marketing field, and factors like authenticity, identity, and tourism development in the tourism domain (RQ3).

    The trend of scientific production related to the discipline in both domains indicates a growing interest in sound, music, and perceptions within the marketing field, and landscapes, experiences, and noises within the tourism marketing domain (RQ4). This highlights the importance of advancing knowledge in sensory marketing, with a particular focus on the sense of sound.

   One notable limitation of this research is that the field of neuroacoustics has not been fully recognized as a business discipline. As a result, studies related to this field may have been conducted using alternative terminology such as sound, phonetic symbolism, or music. Additionally, due to the selection criteria applied in both SLRs, some articles may not have been included in this study. These could include articles published in other domains like wellness or sports, which may offer valuable theoretical and methodological insights. Additionally, articles published in languages other than English were excluded from consideration. Furthermore, during the eligibility stage of the SLRs, articles that simultaneously measured multiple senses were discarded. This decision was made to maintain a clear focus on the impact of neuroacoustics.

    Future research has immense potential in revealing the influence of acoustic signals on both conscious and subconscious brain responses, which can enhance customer satisfaction. While current research has shed light on the marketing implications of acoustics, future studies should delve deeper into the neurological dimensions of acoustic marketing.

    Furthermore, scholars could develop different research lines, such as advancing knowledge concerning recent studies that examine the influence of modifying digital vocal tract length (i.e., timbre) of AI-generated voices on shaping consumers’ experiences (Efthymiou et al., 2023). Another interesting avenue for further research is examining the correlation between acoustics signals in video games, slot machines, or even the metaverse, and impulsive buying behaviours. Research has analysed the phenomenon of Losses Disguised as Wins (LDWs) on slot machines, revealing that despite being monetary losses, LDWs are perceived and processed as wins both psychophysically and psychologically by participants (Scarfe et al., 2021; Dixon et al., 2013). Additionally, given the current trend toward health-conscious eating, it would be compelling to continue examining the effects of natural acoustic signals on stress recovery and promoting healthy food choices (Michels & Hamers, 2023).

    Additionally, there are several research lines in the field of tourism marketing. Scholars are encouraged to employ archaeoacoustics to emphasize the importance of cultural heritage, not solely for preservation purposes, but also for educating tourists and increasing their awareness of the need to ensure the sustainability of these assets. This will ultimately enhance tourist arrivals by offering insights into the true intentions of ancient builders, thereby enriching visitors’ experiences. Furthermore, future research could evaluate how personalized acoustic signals, capable of affecting adrenaline levels or alleviating stress, influence the perception of tourism services (Gomes Arrulo et al., 2023). This could encompass accommodations, wellness amenities, or even adventure activities.

    In conclusion, neuroacoustics has the potential to be recognized as a valuable business discipline, offering companies competitive advantages by leveraging acoustics signals. These acoustic signals can impact all stages of the customer journey: from the decision-making process and purchase experience to post-purchase behaviour. The challenge lies in neuroacoustics’ ability to provide effective responses to consumer reactions, a task that can be measured by scholars conducting research using EEG (Mutanen et al., 2018).

References

Albahari, A., Barge-Gil, A., Pérez-Canto, S., & Landoni, P. (2022). The effect of science and technology parks on tenant firms: a literature review. The Journal of Technology Transfer, 48(4), 1489–1531. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10961-022-09949-7

Alhashmi, S. M., Hashem, I. A. T., & Al-Qudah, I. (2024). Artificial Intelligence applications in healthcare: A bibliometric and topic model-based analysis. Intelligent Systems with Applications, 21, 200299. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iswa.2023.200299

Arjunan, A., Baroutaji, A., Robinson, J., Vance, A., & Arafat, A. (2024). Acoustic metamaterials for sound absorption and insulation in buildings. Building and Environment, 251, 111250. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2024.111250

Bhardwaj, S., Rana, G. A., Behl, A., & Gallego de Caceres, S. J. (2023). Exploring the boundaries of Neuromarketing through systematic investigation. Journal of Business Research, 154, 113371. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.113371

Barrigón Morillas, J., Gómez Escobar, V., Méndez Sierra, J., Vı́lchez Gómez, R., & Trujillo Carmona, J. (2002). An environmental noise study in the city of Cáceres, Spain. Applied Acoustics, 63(10), 1061–1070. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0003-682x(02)00030-0

Barnes, S. J. (2024). Smooth talking and fast music: Understanding the importance of voice and music in travel and tourism ads via acoustic analytics. Journal of Travel Research, 63(5), 1070-1085. https://doi.org/10.1177/00472875231185882

Bastos, M., Mendonça, K. C. D., Lins, V. C., Muzzolon, E., Soares, D. M., Silva, J. M., Silva, W. C. F. N. D., & Bonini, J. S. (2021). Technological prospecting of music therapy in Alzheimer’s disease. Research, Society and Development, 10(16), e443101622316. https://doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v10i16.22316

Beloskar, V. D., Haldar, A., & Gupta, A. (2024). Gender equality and women’s empowerment: A bibliometric review of the literature on SDG 5 through the management lens. Journal of Business Research, 172, 114442. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.114442

Berns, G. S., & Moore, S. E. (2011). A neural predictor of cultural popularity. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 22(1), 154–160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2011.05.001

Biswas, D., Lund, K., & Szocs, C. (2019). Sounds like a healthy retail atmospheric strategy: Effects of ambient music and background noise on food sales. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 47(1), 37–55. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-018-0583-8

Cano-Marin, E., Mora-Cantallops, M., & Sánchez-Alonso, S. (2023). Twitter as a predictive system: A systematic literature review. Journal of Business Research, 157, 113561. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.113561

Chaudhuri, R., Apoorva, A., Vrontis, D., Siachou, E., & Trichina, E. (2023). How customer incivility affects service-sector employees: A systematic literature review and a bibliometric analysis. Journal of Business Research, 164, 114011. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.114011

Cusick, S. G. (2020). Music as torture/music as weapon. In The Auditory Culture Reader (pp. 379–391). London: Routledge.

Deepa, R., Sekar, S., Malik, A., Kumar, J., & Attri, R. (2024). Impact of AI-focussed technologies on social and technical competencies for HR managers – A systematic review and research agenda. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 202, 123301. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2024.123301

Del Gesso, C., Lodhi, R. N., Asif, M., & Cobanoglu, C. (2024). A bibliometric analysis of intellectual capital research in the hospitality and tourism business setting. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 119, 103713. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2024.103713

Dixon, M. J., Collins, K., Harrigan, K. A., Graydon, C., & Fugelsang, J. A. (2013). Using sound to unmask losses disguised as wins in multiline slot machines. Journal of Gambling Studies, 31(1), 183–196. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-013-9411-8

Efthymiou, F., Hildebrand, C., de Bellis, E., & Hampton, W. H. (2023). The power of AIgGenerated voices: How digital vocal tract length shapes product congruency and ad performance. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 59(2), 117–134. https://doi.org/10.1177/10949968231194905

Fan, Y., Wong, I. A., & Lin, Z. C. (2023). How folk music induces destination image: A synthesis between sensory marketing and cognitive balance theory. Tourism Management Perspectives, 47, 101123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2023.101123

Gálvez, G., Recuero, M., Canuet, L., & Del-Pozo, F. (2018). Short-term effects of binaural beats on eeg power, functional connectivity, cognition, gait and anxiety in Parkinson’s disease. International Journal of Neural Systems, 28(05), 1750055. https://doi.org/10.1142/s0129065717500551

Gilliland, E. G. (1945). Music for the war wounded. Music Educators Journal, 31(5), 24–51. https://doi.org/10.2307/3386589

Gomes Arrulo, T., Doumas, M., & Papageorgiou, K. A. (2023). Beneath the surface: The influence of music and the dark triad traits on stress and performance. Current Psychology, 42(4), 3076–3090. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01664-0

Gong, K. (2023). Twenty years of Chinese social sciences towards internationalization (1998–2017): a knowledge sources perspective. Scientometrics, 128(12), 6373–6402. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-023-04859-3

Haba, H. F., Bredillet, C., & Dastane, O. (2023). Green consumer research: Trends and way forward based on bibliometric analysis. Cleaner and Responsible Consumption, 8, 100089. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clrc.2022.100089

Juárez-Varón, D., Zuluaga, J. C. S., & Recuerda, A. M. (2024). Neuroentrepreneurship: state of the art and future lines of work. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-024-00969-3

Kaur, V. (2024). Neurostrategy: A scientometric analysis of marriage between neuroscience and strategic management. Journal of Business Research, 170, 114342. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.114342

Klink, R. R. (2000) Creating brand names with meaning: The use of sound symbolism. Marketing Letters, 11, 5–20. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008184423824

Kochewad, S. A., Gaur, G. K., Maurya, V. P., Bharti, P. K., Sahoo, N. R., Pandey, H. O., Singh, M., & Verma, M. R. (2022). Effect of milking environment enrichment through music on production performance and behaviour in cattle. Tropical Animal Health and Production, 54(4). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-022-03217-4

Kroener-Herwig, B., Biesinger, E., Gerhards, F., Goebel, G., Greimel, K. V., & Hiller, W. (2000). Retraining therapy for chronic tinnitus: A critical analysis of its status. Scandinavian Audiology, 29(2), 67–78. https://doi.org/10.1080/010503900424471

Lekner, D. (2022). States of diffusion: Ideology, Text, voice, and sound in Cold War Chinas. Modern China, 49(2), 159–191. https://doi.org/10.1177/00977004221123511

Liu, Y., & Avello, M. (2021). Status of the research in fitness apps: A bibliometric analysis. Telematics and Informatics, 57, 101506. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2020.101506

Lowe, M. L., & Haws, K. L. (2017). Sounds big: The effects of acoustic pitch on product perceptions. Journal of Marketing Research, 54(2), 331–346. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmr.14.0300

Makaya, C., Blanco, C., & Barrédy, C. (2023). Towards an ecological approach for interaction management in entrepreneurship courses. Journal of Business Research, 160, 113749. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.113749

Michels, N., & Hamers, P. (2023). nature sounds for stress recovery and healthy eating: A lab experiment differentiating water and bird sound. Environment and Behavior, 55(3), 175–205. https://doi.org/10.1177/00139165231174622

Moreno-Lobato, A., Di-Clemente, E., Hernández-Mogollón, J. M., & Campón-Cerro, A. M. (2023). How emotions sound. A literature review of music as an emotional tool in tourism marketing. Tourism Management Perspectives, 48, 101154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2023.101154

Mutanen, T. P., Metsomaa, J., Liljander, S., & Ilmoniemi, R. J. (2018,). Automatic and robust noise suppression in EEG and MEG: The SOUND algorithm. NeuroImage, 166, 135–151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.10.021

Novitzky, P., Janssen, J., & Kokkeler, B. (2023). A systematic review of ethical challenges and opportunities of addressing domestic violence with AI-technologies and online tools. Heliyon, 9(6), e17140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e17140

Oludapo, S., Carroll, N., & Helfert, M. (2024). Why do so many digital transformations fail? A bibliometric analysis and future research agenda. Journal of Business Research, 174, 114528. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2024.114528

Price, D. J. D. S. (1963). Little science, big science. Columbia University Press.

Price, D. J. D. S. (1970). Citation measures of hard science, soft science, technology, and nonscience. In C. E. Nelson & D. K. Pollock (Eds.), Communication among scientists and engineers (pp. 3–22).  Heath Lexington Books.

Scarfe, M. L., Stange, M., & Dixon, M. J. (2021). Measuring gamblers’ behaviour to show that negative sounds can reveal the true nature of losses disguised as wins in multiline slot machines. Journal of Gambling Studies, 37(2), 403–425. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-020-09976-9

Spence, C. (2012). Auditory contributions to flavour perception and feeding behaviour. Physiology & Behavior, 107(4), 505–515. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2012.04.022

Waitt, G., & Duffy, M. (2010). Listening and tourism studies. Annals of Tourism Research, 37(2), 457–477. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2009.10.017