Unpacking IT-Driven Digital Transformation in Marketing 4.0 Through a Sociomaterial Gioia Lens
Publication Name: Journal of Global Information Management
Publication Date: 2025-01-01
Volume: 33
Issue: 1
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
The application of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled technologies into the retail environment has led to the emergence of the Marketing 4.0 paradigm, which integrates customer digital and physical touch-points to deliver value. The study used sociomateriality as a theoretical lens to examine how AI-driven marketing practices were enacted, negotiated, and established in retail organizations through human-material entanglements. The crowdsourcing platform Prolific Academic was used to collect data from retail professionals through open-ended essays. Data were analyzed using Gioia's methodology, which led to the identification of five dimensions—sociomaterial entanglement, material agency, situated practices, temporal emergence, and sociomaterial identity—which aligned with sociomateriality theory, encouraging the adoption of Marketing 4.0 in the retail context. The study developed a holistic framework to visualize the relationships that emerged from the participants' responses, addressing the criticalities of the Marketing 4.0 ecosystem.
Open Access: Yes
DOI: 10.4018/JGIM.393626