Unleashing the Potential of Personal Branding for Gig Professionals: Key Revelations and Future Horizons Using B-SLR Approach

Abstract

Although branding was associated with commercial products, it has now become a key strategy for managing professional identity in the contemporary labour market. Hence, the study seeks to explore the current state of personal branding research worldwide. The study aims to explore emerging patterns and significant gaps, and to develop a conceptual framework that clarifies the potential implications of personal branding among gig professionals. The study thoroughly examined 1,088 articles (2004–2024) from the Web of Science (WoS) database, following the bibliometric-systematic literature review (B-SLR) procedure using VOSviewer. Specific cluster analysis with thematic analysis was conducted to explore the knowledge within each cluster. Moreover, to provide a theoretical contribution within the field, a taxonomy or structured interpretative framework was used to synthesize the bibliometric and SLR findings. The study shows that personal branding has gained significant popularity since 2005, with increasing recognition in the business and management disciplines. It also highlights the global publication trend in its utilization by leading countries, the top five influential journals and prominent authors using co-citation analysis. Furthermore, the authors identified 6 unique themes, 14 widely used theories and an integrated conceptual model that provides a foundation for future research and for understanding the potential value of personal branding in the gig professional context.