In an article by Wheatley and Wilson (1987 AMA Educators' Proceedings), Malhotra was ranked number one in the country based on articles published in the Journal of Marketing Research during 1980-1985. He also holds the all-time record for the maximum number of publications in the Journal of Health Care Marketing. He is ranked number one based on publications in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (JAMS) since its inception through Volume 23, 1995. He is also number one based on publications in JAMS during the ten-year period 1986-1995.

In an Editorial by Schlegelmilch (JIM, 11(1), 2003), Malhotra was ranked number one based on publications in the International Marketing Review from 1992 to 2002. He is also ranked number one based on publications in the International Marketing Review since its inception in 1983 to 2003. He is also ranked number one based on publications in the International Marketing Review  from 1996 to 2006 based on a study by Xu et al. published in the Asia Pacific Journal of Management (2008). In a landmark study by West et al. (2008) examining publications in the top four marketing journals (Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Marketing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and Journal of Consumer Research) over a 25-year period from 1977 to 2002, Malhotra has three top-three rankings: number three based on publications in all the four journals combined, number three based on publications in the Journal of Marketing Research, and number one based on publications in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science.

He has published more than 100 papers in major refereed journals, including the Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Research, Marketing Science, Management Science, Journal of Marketing, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Health Care Marketing, and leading journals in statistics, management science, information systems, and psychology.  In addition, he has also published numerous refereed articles in the proceedings of major national and international conferences. Several articles have received best paper research awards. 

He was chairman of the Academy of Marketing Science Foundation, 1996-1998, and was president of the Academy of Marketing Science, 1994-1996, and chairman of its board of governors, 1990-1992. He is a distinguished fellow of the Academy and fellow of the Decision Sciences Institute.  He is the founding editor of the Review of Marketing Research, and he served as an associate editor of Decision Sciences for 18 years. He also served as section editor of Health Care Marketing Abstracts for the Journal of Health Care Marketing.  Also, he serves, or has served, on the Editorial Board of more than a dozen journals, including the Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Consumer Research, and Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science.

His book, Marketing Research: An Applied Orientation, Fifth Edition, was published by Prentice-Hall, Inc in 2006. This book has been translated into Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, Hungarian, French, Bahasa Indonesia, and Japanese. In addition to the eight translations, this book also has several English editions including North America, International, Europe, India, and Australia & New Zealand. The book has received widespread adoption at both the graduate and undergraduate levels with more than 144 schools using it in the USA. His book, Basic Marketing Research: A Decision-Making Approach, Third Edition, was published by Prentice Hall in 2008.

Malhotra has consulted for business, non-profit and government organizations in the U.S. and abroad and has served as an expert witness in legal and regulatory proceedings. He has special expertise in data analysis and statistical methods. He is the winner of numerous awards and honors for research, teaching, and service to the profession, including the Academy of Marketing Science, Outstanding Marketing Teaching Excellence Award, 2003.

Malhotra is an ordained minister of the Gospel, a member and Deacon, First Baptist Church, Atlanta. He lives in the Atlanta area with his wife, Veena, and children, Ruth and Paul.